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Amid a weak economic environment.
Three months ago, loan growth was still hovering at double-digit level.
Headline loan growth for December moderated to 5.9% in the month, the slowest since Mar10.
The pace of the decline seems abrupt to some as just about three months ago, loan growth was still at double-digit level.
S&P’s new credit rating framework gives rise to "serious concerns".
Singapore’s investment fund Temasek has slammed Standard & Poor’s proposed new rating framework for government-related investment holding companies (IHCs), stating that the framework gives rise to "serious concerns" because it departs from the core principle that credit ratings should be based on an individual company’s underlying credit quality.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) is looking for more opportunities to develop underground space, URA’s Chief Planner and Deputy CEO Lim Eng Hwee said in a media interview recently.
“At some point when land becomes so dear, we would have no choice, which is the case of Japan, when you have no option. So underground is the default option, but as you do more of it, you find ways of managing the issues, a clever way of managing the cost and a clever way of making it a bit more optimal. The potential is huge but we have to find ways to overcome these challenges and we are trying to do it partly learning by doing,” he said
Hong Kong's property sector may face dire predictions of a crash after the breakneck pace of price increases in recent years, but that wouldn't be an Armageddon scenario for the economy, market watchers said.
"With the Federal Reserve set to tighten policy this year and growth likely to slow further in the mainland, there are rising concerns about a possible collapse in house prices," Chang Liu, an economist at Capital Economics, said in a note Tuesday. "While the economy would be weakened if this happened, we would not expect to see a severe and protracted economic downturn."
Landed residential property refers to properties for the purpose of residence and hence not for industrial or commercial use. It includes vacant land, detached houses, semi-detached houses, bungalows, terrace houses, buildings of less than six storeys and any other land gazetted for residential purposes. But it does not include flats and condominiums of six or more storeys high.
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) revealed that the number of permanent residents granted approval to buy landed homes on mainland Singapore has dropped sharply since 2011, following the tightening of eligibility criteria.
Since then married PR couples with children who are also PRs made up two-thirds of approved applicants. SLA also added that Singaporean-PR couples' applications are generally regarded favourably to keep them rooted to the country.
Despite dire predictions of sharp drops, Singapore's property prices don't seem to have budged much, but statistics may mask a market already in deep decline.
The official price index data appear largely benign, down just 0.7 percent in the third quarter, for a cumulative decline of less than 4 percent from the peak in 2012.
But that's the wrong price data to look at, said Alex Shlaen, a property investor and CEO of Panache Management, a luxury brand manager.
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Singapore's Long-Term Foreign- and Local-Currency IDRs at 'AAA'. The issue ratings on Singapore's senior unsecured foreign- and local-currency bonds are also affirmed at 'AAA'. The Outlooks on the Long-Term IDRs are Stable. The Country Ceiling is affirmed at 'AAA' and the Short-Term Foreign-Currency IDR at 'F1+'.
Fitch Ratings has affirmed Singapore's Long-Term Foreign and Local Currency Issuer Default Ratings (IDRs) at 'AAA'. The debt issue ratings on Singapore's senior unsecured local-currency bonds are also affirmed at 'AAA'. The Outlooks on Singapore's Long-Term IDRs are Stable. The Country Ceiling is affirmed at 'AAA' and the Short-Term Foreign Currency IDR at 'F1+'.
SINGAPORE: The Republic's foreign exchange reserves edged higher in December from a month ago, reversing the decline seen in November.
The latest data from the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) on Wednesday (Jan 7) showed that Singapore's foreign exchange reserves stood at S$340.44 billion at the end of last month, up from S$339.64 billion at end-November.
In US dollar terms, Singapore's FX reserves fell for a sixth straight month to US$256.86 billion at end-December, down from US$260.55 billion at end-November. Reserves had stood at US$277.97 billion at the end of June.
MAS does not comment on monthly change in its reserves, but the fall in US dollar terms is probably due to the greenback's sharp recent gains against other currencies such as the euro and yen.
The cooling maket puts loan quality under pressure.
Declining property prices will place some pressure on local banks' loan quality, but Fitch Ratings expects the banking system to remain resilient against rising property risks.
In a report released today, Fitch stated that potential losses from mortgages remain minimal given borrowers' healthy household balance sheets and banks' adequate collateralisation.
"We anticipate loan losses to rise as the property market continues to cool, but Fitch expects the regulator to remain vigilant for signs of stress. Banks' corporate and regional exposures--including China-related loans, which are 20%-25%--will drive loan quality," the report stated.
SINGAPORE: The Republic’s banks are expected to weather the correction in the city-state's home prices as household debts are low relative to assets, Fitch Ratings said in a commentary on Friday (Jan 30).
Fitch also said local banks DBS, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp (OCBC) and United Overseas Bank (UOB) have healthy loss-absorption buffers, which will help them weather a significant rise in credit costs.
The ratings agency said housing loan delinquencies have remained extremely low in Singapore as household assets far exceed liabilities. In addition, property loans are backed by ample collateral with an average loan-to-value ratio of 49 per cent.
"While we anticipate Singapore banks' loan losses to rise as the property market continues to cool, Fitch expects the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to remain vigilant for signs of stress," the ratings agency said in a statement.
Singapore residential property prices have fallen by 5 per cent to 8 per cent since hitting a peak in mid-2013.
Fitch has a AA- rating on DBS, OCBC and UOB with a stable outlook.
Channel News Asia
FITCH Ratings on Thursday said that Singapore property prices will likely continue to fall in 2015-2016 by around 3 per cent per annum for both public and private homes, which are highly correlated with each other.
In tandem with Singapore's benchmark rates, mortgage rate indices will also increase slightly this year, albeit still reaching low levels of around 2 per cent, from current levels of less than 1.5 per cent.
SINGAPORE'S financial markets have remained stable through 2014, but banks will have to be watchful of liquidity and credit risks, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said in its annual Financial Stability Review on Thursday.
This paper examines how Asian economies are dealing with shifting capital flows between safe and emerging market risk assets under the current ultra-loose monetary conditions.
THE proposal to re-zone some residential parts of Geylang for commercial use could lift the values of nearby condominiums.
Property experts believe reducing the amount of space for homes will bolster values for existing residences as demand is strong, given the area's prime location and good transport links.
The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) announced the opening of Urban Lab, a new dedicated exhibition space for research. Urban Lab brings to the public and industry practitioners innovative and exciting research and development (R&D) ideas and solutions that are developed in Singapore to help address urban challenges and create a more sustainable and liveable urban environment.
PERENNIAL Real Estate Holdings Limited (PREH) has syndicated a consortium of investors to acquire AXA Tower at a property purchase price of S$1.17 billion, translating to S$1,735 per square foot (psf).
SINGAPORE — The Housing and Development Board’s (HDB) net deficit will continue to be high in the next few financial years as flats launched in the ramp-up phase are progressively completed, said National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan in Parliament today (Jan 20).
(Bloomberg) -- The Singaporean dollar slid to its weakest level since 2010 after the central bank unexpectedly eased monetary policy. U.S. equity-index futures climbed as Apple Inc. reported record sales, while oil dropped.
Singapore’s dollar sank as much as 1.3 percent by 3:26 p.m. in Tokyo as policy makers reduced the managed currency’s pace of appreciation. Australia’s dollar advanced versus the greenback after inflation accelerated. Nasdaq 100 Index futures increased 1.2 percent as Apple, the biggest stock on the gauge, traded more than 5 percent above its closing price. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index fluctuated near a four-month high. U.S. crude fell for the fourth time in five days.
