Blueprint on sustainable development to be launched in 2009

Singapore’s development into a vibrant and distinctive city will be done in a sustainable way.

And the newly-formed Inter-Ministerial Committee on Sustainable Development will be launching its blueprint on this next year.

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said this will provide a comprehensive road map of initiatives and measures to sustain Singapore’s development for the next 10 years and beyond.

Mr Mah was speaking in Parliament on Thursday in response to questions from MPs on Singapore’s sustainable development policies.

He also said the government is making plans to rejuvenate the Central Business District.

Land will be released around the Tanjong Pagar area and the Ophir/Rochor corridor will be developed into a vibrant office cluster.

But he stressed the Marina Bay Financial Centre will remain the centrepiece of Singapore’s push for more economic growth.

Mr Mah said it will be a “seamless extension of Raffles Place, offering high-quality office spaces along a lively waterfront”.

The area generated will be equivalent to two Canary Wharfs in London.

The new financial district is expected to take more than 15 years to materialise depending on demand.

And Mr Mah gave the assurance the government will continue to release land in a calibrated manner to meet such demand. – CNA/ch

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 28 Feb 2008

Shortage of new HDB flats?

Young couples must be realistic, says Mah 

AMID concern that young couples are being priced out of the public housing resale market, National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan said the Government spent, on average, $1.4 billion a year over the last five years on its commitment to keep housing affordable – and has allocated a further $1.6 billion this coming financial year.

Last year, demand for public housing saw resale prices rise by about 17 per cent. Many first-time buyers voiced frustration at having to turn to the resale market due to a shortage of new HDB flats – but Mr Mah said that this was not an accurate picture.

While there was overwhelming demand for new HDB flats in mature estates such as Bukit Merah, Mr Mah pointed out there are still some 700 units available in the Built-To-Order projects launched last year in Punggol and Sengkang.

Urging buyers “to be realistic in their expectations”, he said: “The Government cannot ensure that flat buyers will get their ideal flat at the specific location and at the time that they prefer.”

As to calls from Members of Parliament to raise the $8,000 income ceiling for housing subsides, Mr Mah pointed out that eight in 10 Singaporean families are already eligible, which means even the upper-middle income are enjoying subsidised housing. “I hope members will agree with me that this is more than generous.”

Turning to another emotion-laden issue that surfaced during Tuesday’s Budget Debate, the Minister stressed that compulsory acquisition of flats by HDB was “absolutely the last resort”, carried out “only after other measures have been exhausted, and only if lessees do not make any effort to resolve their financial situation”.

He was referring to Tampines MP Ong Kian Min’s account of Ms Judy Mitchell’s plight – she had to vacate her flat after accumulating arrears of more than $10,000.

Mr Mah said Ms Mitchell lives in a five-room flat with her adult daughter and mother. “This is her third flat. She has bought and sold two previous flats and has made profits of about $190,000. She has enjoyed three concessionary loans.”

On four occasions over two years, HDB had allowed her to defer her mortgage or pay half her instalment amount, but Ms Mitchell – who was not receptive to HDB’s suggestion to include her working daughter to help service the housing loan – “did not make any attempt to find a long-term solution, and arrears kept mounting”.

Still, Mr Mah said he would ask HDB to consider a non-concessionary loan should Ms Mitchell fail to get a bank loan to buy a smaller flat.

Source : Today – 29 Feb 2008

Rental flats: Full review on the way

ONE tenant of a public rental flat installed a split-airconditioner in her flat, thanks to her children. Another asked for a season car-parking label.

Still other tenants of such heavily-subsidised rental flats – meant as a “final safety net” for the needy with no other options – have been known to sublet their units.

The Housing and Development Board (HDB) will not hesitate to clamp down on such cases and redistribute the flats to more deserving cases in the long waiting queue, said National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan in addressing the keen shortage of rental flats.

He announced a comprehensive review of the Public Rental Scheme to better manage demand, even as the HDB builds more of such flats.

There will be a “more holistic assessment criteria” for applicants, to start with. Mr Mah noted that ex-HDB lessees who had fallen on hard times made up two-thirds of rental flat applicants. Even so, one in five had the money to buy a smaller flat, while many could have stayed with their families.

As for the difficulties of low-income divorcee families, who cannot apply for a rental flat 30 months after the matrimonial home is sold off, Mr Mah said the wider issue of dysfunctional families needs to be studied from a “wider perspective”.

But the Ministry would look into the idea of short-term housing for low-income divorcee families, which now make up more than 20 per cent of those applying for public rental flat. Meanwhile, the HDB will increase the stock of rental flats in the next few years from 42,000 to 50,000. Already, 930 rental units converted from vacant blocks will be ready by this quarter, while work will start this year on another 2,000 which will be ready for allocation from 2011.

Source : Today – 29 Feb 2008

Lease Buyback Scheme: ‘Unlocking’ value

Lease Buyback Scheme to benefit the elderly

Some 25,000 households – or 70 per cent of elderly two and three-room flat owners – will qualify for the Housing and Development Board’s (HDB) new Lease Buyback Scheme (LBS) that kicks off next year.

The HDB will buy back the tail end of the flat’s lease from elderly owners at market value, so that they can “unlock” the value of their flat. The lessee would be left with just 30 years of lease to his or her flat.

First announced by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong at the last National Day Rally, details of the LBS were unveiled in Parliament yesterday by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan.

In addition to the equity from the selling of part of the flat’s lease, the HDB will provide a subsidy of $10,000. However, only $5,000 will be paid upfront in cash. The remaining equity will be used to pay the CPF Life annuity scheme that provides monthly payouts for life.

“I believe that the LBS, together with CPF Life, will substantially improve the financial situation of lower income elderly households,” said Mr Mah. “In particular, many of today’s elderly do not have much in their Retirement Accounts.”

But not every HDB lessee qualifies for the LBS. The scheme is restricted to those aged 62 and above who live in three-room or smaller flats. They must have enjoyed at most one housing subsidy and have a household income of less than $3,000. They must also not have bought bigger housing types before. Furthermore, their outstanding housing loans must not be more than $5,000 and they must have stayed in the flat for at least five years.

If the lessee decides to terminate the 30-year lease, there will be a pro-rated refund from the HDB. And if he or she outlives the 30-year lease, the HDB will look into the individual’s circumstances to determine an appropriate housing arrangement, if he or she is unable to pay for lease extension.

“I want to assure them that they will have a roof over their heads, if they outlive their LBS lease,” affirmed Mr Mah.

Jurong MP Mdm Halimah Yacob said the HDB needed to reach out to the elderly who are eligible for the LBS.

She had earlier raised concerns about how the annuity scheme would exclude a quarter of CPF members, those who have less than $40,000 in cash in their CPF accounts – the “very folks who need such protection the most”.

Source : Today – 29 Feb 2008

Proof must be furnished to update new addresses

Those who apply to update their addresses on their identity cards will be required to furnish proof that they are indeed living at the addresses stated.

The move is to protect innocent victims from being harassed by loansharks.

Senior Minister of State for Law and Home Affairs Associate Professor Ho Peng Kee announced this in Parliament on Thursday when responding to concerns raised by MPs over illegal moneylending activities.

He acknowledged that some borrowers furnish outdated or false home addresses to avoid harassment, leading to innocent households being harassed.

Last year, about half of the harassment cases reported involved innocent victims of loansharks.

Noting that illegal moneylending syndicates have come up with new modes of operations, Prof Ho said the authorities are exploring ways to tackle the organised nature of loansharking squarely.

They will study the proposal made by MP for Holland-Bukit Timah GRC Christopher De Souza to make borrowing from loansharks an offence.

Prof Ho cautioned that while borrowers are part of the problem, there is also a need to consider the wide-ranging social circumstances behind these actions and establish different approaches to fit the circumstances.

He explained: “We have to differentiate. I think he suggests an approach where the Public Prosecutor is given the discretion. Indeed, he has the discretion, but he will exercise it consciously and carefully. Well, we will study this issue and include in our study the profiles of borrowers and the habits so as to strike a balance.”

Six loansharking syndicates were smashed in 2007, resulting in the arrest of 37 syndicate members.

Prof Ho said the syndicates were believed to have had a pool of 2,000 debtors and had given out loans amounting to a total of more than S$1 million.

In all, 392 persons were arrested in 2007, compared to 294 in 2006. In a landmark case, a loanshark’s assets were even confiscated. – CNA/so

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 28 Feb 2008

Mah Bow Tan says acquisition of flat is “absolute last resort”

National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan assured Singaporeans in Parliament on Thursday that compulsory acquisition of a HDB flat is the “absolute last resort” – a serious decision carried out only after all other measures have been exhausted.

Mr Mah said this when he gave what he called “the full picture of Madam Judy Mitchell” – whose plight was highlighted by her MP Ong Kian Min of Tampines GRC earlier this week.

The five-room flat Judy lives in with her mother and her daughter, an air-stewardess, is her third flat.

Mr Mah said she had bought and sold two flats previously, making profits of about S$190,000. She has also enjoyed three concessionary loans.

But Judy had difficulties servicing the loan for her third flat soon after buying it.

HDB has allowed her to defer her mortgage payments or pay only half the instalment amount on four occasions for six months each, over a period of two years.

But Mr Mah said Judy did not make any attempts to find a long-term solution.

He said: “She was not receptive to HDB’s suggestions to downgrade or include her working daughter to help to service the housing loan. As a result, her outstanding loan has increased beyond the original loan. They have to downgrade, while they can still obtain enough sales proceeds to afford a small flat.

“I would like to urge Mr Ong to persuade the family to please do the right thing quickly. If they cannot get a bank loan, I will ask HDB to consider providing a non-concessionary HDB loan for them.” -CNA/so

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 28 Feb 2008

Hong Leong Asia posts 56% jump in full-year profit on strong China operations

Hong Leong Asia’s foray into China is paying off for the company.

Its China operations and building materials unit both helped to boost its full-year net profit to S$95.4 million, up 56 percent on year.

Revenue rose 30 percent to S$3.2 billion.

Hong Long’s share of profit from associates increased to S$25.4 million in 2007, a turnaround from the loss in 2006 of S$500,000.

Most of the contribution come from its Malaysian associate Tasek Corporation.

As at 31 December 2007, the group’s net gearing ratio was 21 percent as compared to 17 percent of the previous year due to higher borrowings in the China operations.

On its outlook, Hong Leong says it expects to remain profitable, barring unforeseen circumstances.

It is citing the expected economic growth rate in China of about 8 percent to 10 percent and the continuing growth momentum of property development and construction sectors in Singapore.

Hong Leong’s building materials unit is expected to benefit from strong demand for ready-mixed concrete from the construction industry. – CNA/ch

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 28 Feb 2008

URA launches sale of two transitional office sites in Newton area

The Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) has launched the sale of two transitional office sites at Scotts and Anthony Roads in the Newton area.

The sites are being released under a government programme to meet the near-term demand for office space.

The two parcels are located next to the Newton MRT station.

The first site has an area of some 0.86 hectares and can yield a maximum gross floor area of about 13,000 square metres.

The second adjacent site spans about 0.9 hectares with a maximum gross floor area of some 13,500 square metres.

Both sites, released on short terms leases of 15 years, can accommodate buildings of up to 4 storeys each.

The URA had already awarded three transitional office sites over the last six months at Scotts Road, Tampines Avenue 5 and Mountbatten Road.

These sites will together provide 47,186 square metres of office space. – CNA/ch

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 28 Feb 2008

HDB’s new lease buyback scheme to benefit 25,000 elderly households

Some 25,000 households, or 70 per cent, of two- and three-room flat owners will benefit from HDB’s new Lease Buyback Scheme.

Under this scheme, the Housing Board will buy back the tail end of the flat lease from elderly owners, to help them unlock the value from their flat.

Details were announced by National Development Minister Mah Bow Tan in his speech

Low income elderly households can sign up for the Lease Buyback Scheme to monetise their flat to meet retirement needs.

Under the scheme, those above 62-years-old can sell the tail end of their flat’s lease back to the HDB at market rate.

The household can continue to stay in their flat, which will be left with a 30-year lease.

Mr Mah said: “In addition to the housing equity that is unlocked by this purchase of the tail end of the lease, HDB will provide a S$10,000 subsidy. Out of this S$10,000 subsidy, S$5,000 will be given to the household as an upfront lump sum payment. The remainder will then be used to purchase a CPF LIFE Plan to provide the owner with a steady stream of income for life.”

For instance, a household living in a three-room flat with a 70-year lease valued at S$200,000 can expect to pocket S$97,000.

The sum will include S$87,000 for 40 years of their flat’s lease, after factoring in depreciation and a S$10,000 government subsidy.

Of this, S$92,000 go to the purchase of the CPF LIFE Plan and S$5,000 will be paid out to the household in cash.

Using the same illustration, the CPF LIFE Plan will yield a monthly payout of between S$460 and S$490 for the household for the rest of their life.

However, the annuity terms will vary depending on the age and gender of the owners.

And should the elderly outlive the 30-year lease, HDB says they can choose to have it extended.

Appropriate housing arrangement will also be made on a case-by-case basis for those who cannot pay for the lease extension.

Those who opt for the Lease Buyback Scheme will not be allowed to sell the flat in the resale market, nor sublet the entire flat.

However, they may return their lease prematurely to the HDB under special circumstances, such as the relocation of the owner to an institutional home.

The HDB will then reimburse the residual value of the lease.

To prevent abuse of the scheme, HDB will impose a pro-rated forfeit of the S$10,000 subsidy, if the flat is returned within the first five years.

The Scheme will be introduced next year.

Only elderly households in 3-room or smaller flat, who earns up to S$3,000 a month are eligible.

And they must not have enjoyed more than one housing subsidy or owned a larger flat or private residential property previously.

To be eligible, the household must also have lived in the flat for at least five years and not have any outstanding loan on their flat exceeding S$5,000.

Mr Mah says HDB will assess if the scheme should be extended to 4-room flat households. – CNA/ch

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 28 Feb 2008

PAP town councils to freeze S&C charges this year

All 14 town councils run by the People’s Action Party (PAP) will not be increasing their Service and Conservancy (S&C) charges this year.

The freeze applies to both residential and commercial properties, and is aimed at lessening the financial burden of the residents due to inflation.

The town councils announced their decision on Thursday in response to the government’s call for town councils to hold their S&C charges for the year.

Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam made the call in Parliament on Wednesday when he announced the extension of a one-year freeze on fee increases for government-provided services till the end of 2008.

The last revision of S&C charges was in September 2004.

To mitigate the rise in their operating expenditures, the PAP Town Councils say they have been capitalising on new technologies and innovations to reduce energy consumption and maintenance costs.

This is without compromising the quality of estate management services. – CNA/ir

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 28 Feb 2008