RE: MCL Land Cheers Singapore Immigration Drive
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reuters
It says this will fuel demand for its mass- to mid-market condominiums.
Reuters
Singapore
17 May 2007
Singapore's drive to attract more immigrants will lift the earnings of residential property developer MCL Land for years to come, the firm's finance chief said on Thursday.
The firm, 77% owned by Hongkong Land , expects demand for its mass- to mid-market condominiums will be fueled by the government's plan to woo more skilled foreign workers and boost the country's population to 6.5 million from 4.5 million.
"The long-term prospect for Singapore's property market is good. You need to house that additional two million," Steve Chu, MCL Land's Chief Financial Officer, told Reuters in an interview.
Singapore generated over 90% of MCL Land's earnings last year with the remainder coming from neighbouring Malaysia.
Though private home prices in Singapore are at their highest levels in seven years, many of MCL Land's rival developers such as CapitaLand and Keppel Land are diversifying out of the country by building apartments, malls and offices in markets such as China and India.
But Chu said the risk-returns of venturing beyond MCL Land's main markets of Singapore and Malaysia would not be attractive for a small firm that had a staff of about 30.
"The current boom in Singapore has two to three more years to go before it eases off," Chu said, adding that Singapore private home prices could rise a further 15-20% this year.
MCL Land has a market capitalisation of $654 million and is the 22nd-largest property firm among the 40 in Singapore's property index .
Landbank
Chu said MCL Land plans to spend up to S$600 million ($394 million) this year to grow its current landbank of about 1.6 million square feet of gross floor area.
"We are actively looking for sites, particularly along the fringes of the core central area," he said.
MCL Land's landbank acquisitions will be funded by cash from its home sales as well as bank financing.
"We are comfortable with keeping our current debt gearing of 60% to equity," Chu added.
MCL Land, which has tied up with rival developer Ho Bee Investment to develop two residential projects, has been approached by European and U.S. funds keen to invest in Singapore property.
"We are not actively considering their offers as we haven't come across any large sites available for development yet," Chu said.
Chu said MCL Land's 2007 net profit would easily exceed the US$30.5 million net profit it earned last year.
"It will definitely be a much better performance than 2006," he said.
Bucking the trend among Singapore property firms which reported strong first-quarter earnings growth, MCL Land posted a 75% fall in net profit for the three months ended March to US$1 million.
Kim Eng Research analyst Wilson Liew said MCL Land's net profit figure was "deceptively abysmal" because the developer's unique accounting treatment of recognising its home sale profits only upon the completion of its projects.
"MCL Land will reap the benefits of capital appreciation in the mass market," said Liew, who raised his target share price for the developer to S$3.23.
MCL Land shares, which rose 0.75% to close at S$2.69 on Thursday, have gained 24% in the last three months, outperforming the 17% average gain of Singapore real estate stocks but underperforming the 33% increase chalked up by Ho Bee Investment over the same period.
What else do I wanna to ask for?
F1 cars zooming past IRs.
F1 boats zooming around Marina Bay.
Prices going up another 20% this year.
2-3 more years of good time.
It can never get better than this!
Cheer Up And Enjoy The Boom
All the hand-wringing about asset/property price surges may be a little unwarranted. Having had a depressed market for 10 years, everyone should just cheer up and enjoy the boom.
- 21 May 2007
RE: Hong Kong Expat Apartment Rents World's Most Expensive: Survey
Quote:
Originally Posted by Unregistered
By the time the bubble burst, you wouldn't even know it until you try to sell. By then nobody in the right mind would even want to buy. You idiots buy $1,500psf have to sell $900psf. Even then, you still have to beg, hahahahahahahahaha. Anyway the Gov already make big money by then, developer already made you all exercised your option already. The property agents already made enough already. You will be there left standing with lots of debts and you will crawl into a hole and cry like a loser.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AP
AP
Singapore
21 May 2007
Hong Kong's high-end apartments are the world's most expensive to rent, followed by Tokyo and New York, reflecting high living costs in those cities, a survey on expatriate accommodation showed Tuesday.
An executive three-bedroom apartment in Hong Kong costs more than US$8,500 (€6,311) a month to rent, according to the survey by U.K.-headquartered human resources consultancy ECA International.
Rents for typical expatriate apartments in Hong Kong rose an average 10% last year and 15% in 2005, thanks to the Chinese territory's robust economic growth, said Lee Quane, general manager of ECA International Hong Kong.
The gap between Hong Kong and other cities was widening, he added.
The survey compared rental prices in 92 locations worldwide, the firm said in a statement.
Tokyo rents for expatriates averaged US$7,358 (€5,474), while in New York, they were US$7,249 (€5,392).
Moscow was ranked fourth most expensive at US$6,526 (€4,854), followed by Seoul, London, Mumbai and Shanghai, the survey found.
The Venezuelan capital of Caracas was ranked ninth as expatriates there need to live in high-security compounds for safety reasons, Quane said. Paris was 10th.
The cheapest location of the 92 cities was Nairobi, Kenya, where a three-bedroom apartment cost about US$1,000 (€750) a month, the survey said.
To high?
No lah.
We are still way below.
There's a lot more room for growth.