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The survey, which covered 8,000 households, also revealed a growing trend among married couples to live near or together with their parents.

The survey explored three main aspects of family ties – living arrangements, interaction and support and the well-being of family life.

It showed the percentage of married couples aged between 21 and 54 who live with or close to their parents increased from 29.3 per cent in 1998 to 35.5 per cent in 2008, when the survey was carried out.

Another finding was that the frequency of visits between children and parents increased marginally.

The percentage of younger married people who visited their parents at least once a month rose to 90.7 per cent in 2008, from 87.8 per cent in 2008.

Similarly, 90.8 per cent of older people said in 2008 that their married children visited them at least once a month, up from 90.4 per cent in 1998.

Strong family support was also seen in 95 per cent of respondents who said support and care during sickness came from their spouse and married children.

Respondents were also asked whether family life was important to them and whether they were satisfied with it.

Although the response showed a slight dip from 1998, more than 90 per cent of younger married people and older people said family life is important and are satisfied with it.

Overall, the survey indicated that family life among HDB residents is in a healthy state.

The survey is carried out every five years by HDB to obtain feedback from residents and identify trends.

The findings, which are used in HDB policy reviews, help identify which aspects of the HDB environment can be improved.

Source : Business Times – 30 Mar 2010

The High Court yesterday threw out an appeal by two former sales committee members who had applied to block the owners’ action against them.

Three sets of minority owners are suing the pair – ex-committee chairman Arjun Samtani and ex-member Tan Kah Gee – over costs incurred in the course of trying to block the collective sale from the start.

They want to be reimbursed for the more than $800,000 they spent, including the cost of hiring lawyers to advise them and other administrative costs.

The sum is expected to be partially offset when the costs awarded to the owners by the Court of Appeal in a separate action last year, after the deal was quashed, are assessed.

Senior lawyer N. Sreenivasan and Senior Counsel Tan Cheng Han, appearing on behalf of the two appellants, had urged the court to throw out the suit by the minority owners, claiming it was an abuse of the court process.

They pointed out that the matter of costs had already been decided by the Court of Appeal in an earlier judgment and only the quantum remained to be determined.

They argued that the damages sought for alleged breach of fiduciary duties were actually a disguised move for costs and ‘it would have been reasonable for them to raise the costs issues at the (earlier) hearings’.

They added in court submissions that the minority holders would have incurred legal costs even if Mr Samtani had not done any wrong as their goal was to stop the collective sale.

But lawyer Kannan Ramesh, acting for the owners, countered that this suit was aimed at different people than was the case with the costs awarded by the Court of Appeal at the earlier hearing.

He argued that the alleged acts committed by the defendants were of a different category that called for different issues to be considered than the other consenting subsidiary proprietors’ decision to go ahead with the failed deal.

Among other things, both had failed to disclose to the others their potential conflicts of interest arising from their purchase of additional units while spearheading the implementation of the sales process.

Judicial Commissioner Steven Chong, who presided at last week’s closed-door hearing, ruled yesterday in a reserved oral judgment that there was no abuse of process by the minority owners in filing this suit as the subject matter was not covered in the previous court cases.

The appeal was dismissed with costs. A pre-trial conference to move the case will be held next week.

The Horizon Towers collective sale process spanned more than two years and involved two Strata Titles Board hearings and two High Court hearings before being thrown out by the Court of Appeal last year.

Source : Straits Times – 30 Mar 2010

This upscale condominium, which is part of the trendy ‘W’ boutique hotel brand, is being built by City Developments. Its spokesman said the price achieved during the exclusive by-invitation-only preview was in line with its launch price of between $2,500 per sq ft (psf) and $3,000 psf.

He said 40 per cent of the buyers were foreigners who were drawn by the project’s ‘unique lifestyle concept’, particularly its strategic location in Sentosa Cove. It is located within the only integrated development in Sentosa Cove – the Quayside Isle, which will house trendy cafes, restaurants, speciality shops and entertainment spots.

The condo will boast 228 apartments. It has two- to four-bedroom units and penthouses, all with 99-year leases. Two bedders start from 1,227 sq ft, three bedders from 1,625 sq ft, and four bedders from 2,067 sq ft.

It is expected to be completed before year end.

Buyers will have to pay at least $3.4 million for the smallest unit of the seven, six-storey blocks.

Also at Sentosa Cove, Ho Bee and IOI said they sold 25 out of 40 units released for the 151-unit Seascape condo over the weekend. The units were sold for an average of $2,700 psf. In terms of absolute price, they were transacted between $5.7 million and $12 million.

The eight-storey development is expected to be completed late this year or early next year. It comprises three- and four-bedroom units.

Source : Straits Times – 30 Mar 2010

THERE has been a change in foreign investors’ perception of the industrial market over the last 10 years. Industrial properties have evolved from being a non-core investment product to a preferred asset class. This became more marked around 2008. Before that, en bloc industrial investment deals were dominated by local players, primarily Ascendas, A-Reit, Cambridge Industrial Trust and Mapletree Logistics Trust.

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Post-2008, foreign and institutional investors started paying more attention to this sector once ruled by the local Reits. For instance, prior to 2008, foreign investors accounted for only one per cent of the total value and number of en block industrial transactions.

The change in attitude came about in 2008, when the proportion of the total value and number of en bloc industrial transactions jumped to 52 per cent and 24 per cent in favour of foreign funds. In the first three months of this year, foreign funds were responsible for almost 60 per cent of the en bloc industrial sales value and 67 per cent of the transactions.

Higher yields derived from industrial properties were deemed as one pivotal reason. The lure of an improving economy is likely to see more foreign investors jumping on the bandwagon. This may lead to further yield compression in the medium term.

Let’s analyse the reasons behind the increasing appetite of foreign investors for this asset class.

Chasing higher yields

Traditional asset classes such as residential, office, retail and hospitality properties yield between 3.5 per cent and 5.5 per cent annually. Average cost of funds for foreign investors range between 3.5 per cent and 4.5 per cent for a Sing dollar loan. Investors from the US and Europe need a higher hurdle rate to justify investing abroad. In their respective property markets, they can achieve yields of 6 per cent a year. For investors to venture abroad, they need a buffer of 100-150 basis points above their 6 per cent yield to justify undertaking the risk of a foreign investment risk. Industrial properties here can provide such high returns, and are deemed a safer bet.

Syariah-compliant investments

The buyers’ landscape changed significantly in 2008, when JTC Corp offloaded $1.7 billion of its assets to Mapletree Industrial Reit and the Bahrain-based Arcapita Bank. It was the latter’s first foray into the Singapore property market.

Arcapita and its fund were on the lookout for Syariah- compliant investment opportunities in the region. Together with Mapletree, Arcapita bought into a majority 56.5 per cent stake. This comprised, among others, 39 blocks of flatted factories, six stack-up industrial buildings and three multi-tenanted business parks.

Under Syariah mandate, investors are not allowed to invest in properties where the tenants are involved in the sale or consumption of alcohol and cigarettes or are in the business of banking and finance, since Syariah laws prohibit the collection of interest. This leaves out market sectors such as prime offices (where tenants are mainly financial institutions), shops and hotels. Investments in industrial properties provide the perfect gateway. Another Middle Eastern investment group, Dubai-based Emirates Tarian Capital, recently purchased 29 Tai Seng Avenue for $53 million, with a leaseback to its vendor, Natural Cool, for 10 years. This would generate an annual yield in excess of 8 per cent.

Asset diversification

Core investors such as German funds SEB and Union Investments Real Estate invest in prime office premises in the financial district. SEB bought a 50 per cent stake in 79 Anson Road and 12 floors of Springleaf Tower in 2007. Union Investments Real Estate purchased Vision Crest Commercial, including the adjacent Chicago School of Business, in 2007. In 2008, these investors turned to industrial property as part of an asset diversification strategy. SEB paid $200 million to buy Starhub Green, a 412,000 sq ft high-tech industrial building at Ubi Avenue 1. Union Investment acquired Applied Materials Building, located at Changi Business Park.

Abundant industrial alternatives

There is a lot of money in the market chasing prime office assets. The recently reported sale of Robinson Point and 1 Finlayson Green clearly demonstrates the amount of ready cash, liquidity and available buyers in the market eyeing prime office properties.

Foreign (and local) investors are hungry for core office assets and there isn’t enough investment stock out there for sale. This inadvertently pushes up the sale price despite a softening rental environment, thus suppressing yields to the current sub-5 per cent level. It is estimated that there are no less than 20 foreign investors in Singapore looking for prime office investments (anything in the range of $20 million to $500 million) and they could not engage in serious negotiations over the past six months as sellers raised prices. The dearth of office investment deals has swung investors’ attention to industrial assets such as business parks and high-tech industrial buildings instead.

Long leases

Industrial properties, particularly owner occupied ones, are sold on a leaseback basis, often presenting investors with attractive long secured leases. Sale and leaseback premises offer the security of tenures from five years to as long as the land lease itself (up to 30 years). Such long leases are seldom found in office assets, and even if they exist, are seldom offered for sale.

In 2007, when office rents hit the stratosphere, major office users such as DBS Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and Citibank started looking at minimising occupancy cost and decentralising backroom operations to suburban business parks. They would build to suit, lease back (almost) in entirety and monetise the assets by selling them to institutional investors, funds and Reits. Such assets remain one of the favourite investment options of foreign funds. These properties are usually leased back to reputable occupiers, providing financial warranties and a stable income base. These assets present defensive characteristics to investors, minimising risk of short term space vacancies and rental cycles.

Niche asset play

Foreign fund managers are always looking for a growing niche sector to put their investors’ money in. A niche play has benefits. Firstly, it provides the necessary product differentiation that helps separate one fund from another. Secondly, if the right strategy is adopted, one can be a substantial player in a niche sector, enabling some control over market pricing.

Avery Strategic Investment did just that and invested in a niche asset class where there were hardly any competitors. They went in, took control of a niche market and raised standards. Their investment – workers’ dormitories – is classified under industrial use. The venture is controlled by US-based Morgan Stanley and Averic Capital Management, the asset managers with a stake of 97 per cent and 3 per cent respectively.

Together, they bought three foreign workers’ dormitories (Kian Teck Dormitory in Jurong, Woodlands Dormitory and Tampines Dormitory, totalling 13,544 beds) from JTC Corp in 2008 for $153 million. A $100 million ‘upmarket’ dormitory called Avery Lodge housing 8,000 workers was also built and is now the largest dormitory in Singapore. Amenities and features include dining and kitchen areas, bay windows, larger floor-to-ceiling heights and space per worker, gym, video game room, sick bay, Internet cafe, mini-mart, canteen, biometric card access and 24-hour guard patrols. Avery Strategic Investment is now one of the largest developers and owners of workers’ dormitories in Singapore.

Investors with bigger appetites can embark on an Arcapita-style acquisition by buying stakes in a company. Investing via the company route allows the investor to gain control of a larger asset chunk instead of slowly accumulating properties on an organic basis. AMP Capital Investors, headquartered in Australia, recently made headlines by acquiring 16.1 per cent of MacarthurCook Industrial Reit, listed on the Singapore Exchange (SGX). The Reit was later renamed Aims AMPCI Reit and its portfolio consists of 25 industrial properties in Singapore and Japan, with an appraised value of $637.4 million (as at Sept 30, 2009).

ARA Asset Management, an affiliate of the Cheung Kong group, recently made its maiden foray into industrial property through a joint venture with listed CWT. The company, known as ARA-CWT Trust Management and 60 per cent owned by ARA, will invest mainly in logistics properties in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific.

This new regional logistics real estate investment trust – to be called Cache Logistics Trust when listed on SGX – will initially have a portfolio of six high-quality logistics properties, injected into the Reit by its operators and owners as part of a sale and leaseback arrangement, with an aggregate gross floor area of 3.86 million sq ft and a value of about $730 million.

As Singapore strengthens its position as a premier logistics and value-add centre in the Asia-Pacific, we can expect more investment dollars to be pumped into this sector. More high value-add manufacturing businesses will be lured to set up operation in Singapore to take advantage of its seamless infrastructure and various tax incentives. Last year, the Economic Development Board brought in some $11.8 billion worth fixed asset investments. This figure is likely to rise in 2010 with the recovering economy.

We expect more foreign investors to start taking notice of the industrial sector here. Local developers too are taking the cue from the active industrial investment market by re-igniting a slew of industrial development projects.

Since July last year, three industrial sites have been successfully triggered and sold to private developers. Two more sites, in Woodlands and Yishun, have just been triggered after receiving minimum bids. Developers are likely to remain confident in the medium to long term with an improving leasing market. They can then offload completed projects to investors such as Reits and funds, ploughing funds back to develop more industrial properties.

Right now, it’s clear skies ahead for the industrial investment market with the influx of foreign investors. What a remarkable transformation this sector has undergone over the decade.

Lee Pei Ying is research analyst and Donald Han, managing director, of Cushman & Wakefield

Source : Business Times – 30 Mar 2010

Prices of non-landed private homes held steady in February, a new index set up to track residential property prices here shows.

The Singapore Residential Price Index, or SRPI, showed that private home prices across the island rose just 0.2 per cent month-on-month in February 2010, after climbing 2.2 per cent in January.

But the gains come on the back of a 22.2 per cent rise in 2009 – putting the index’s current value just 0.4 per cent below its peak in November 2007.

The new index, which is compiled by the Institute of Real Estate Studies at the National University of Singapore, was set up last week to serve as a resource for developing property derivatives in Singapore. It tracks month-on-month price movements in the private non-landed residential property market using a basket of 364 completed projects.

By contrast, the official Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) private residential property price index, which is released every quarter, includes transactions at new launches and sub-sales.

According to the URA index, private home prices hit a recent high in the second quarter of 2008 – before falling for the next four quarters. Home prices then recovered somewhat, rising 15.8 per cent in Q3 2009 and 7.4 per cent in Q4. But the URA index is still some 6.6 per cent off its recent Q2 2008 peak.

Analysts said that the SRPI moved up only slightly in February as most of the market activity centred around new launches.

Developers sold 1,196 new homes in February 2010 (slightly less than the 1,480 new homes sold in January). But market watchers said that in the resale market (sales of units in completed projects) there was a larger month-on-month fall in the transaction volume.

‘The new index is for completed properties and most of the price movements and market activity over the last few weeks have been seen for new launches,’ said Colin Tan, director of research and consultancy at Chesterton Suntec International. ‘Prices at completed properties are also more stable as these projects tend to draw a different type of investors as compared to new launches.’

Tay Huey Ying, Colliers’ director for research and advisory, similarly said that the index was flat in February 2010 as only properties completed between October 1998 and September 2009 are included in the basket.

Associate Professor Lum Sau Kim, who leads the group that compiles the new index, said one key feature of the SRPI is that it is not too affected by new launches. It is also designed to not be unduly influenced by low transaction volumes in a quiet market.

She attributed the marginal movement in the index for February to the Chinese New Year season, when buying activity traditionally tapers off.

The SRPI also showed a drop in home prices in the central region (postal districts 1-4 and 9-11) in February. Prices there fell 0.1 per cent last month after climbing 1.6 per cent in January.

For the whole of 2009, prices in the central region rose 27.3 per cent. But prices in the central region are still around 10 per cent off the pre-crisis peak, according to the index.

Elsewhere, prices in the non-central areas rose 0.5 per cent in February after climbing 2.7 per cent in January. Private home prices in the non-central regions have now exceeded the pre-crisis peak.

Analysts predict that when the URA flash estimates are released early next month, it will show that private home prices climbed 5-8 per cent in the first quarter of 2010.

Source : Business Times – 30 Mar 2010

Its list of perennial property hot spots includes one surprise locale far from the city centre.

District 15, which includes the Katong, Joo Chiat, Amber Road, Marine Parade and Tanjong Rhu areas, consistently topped all 28 regions in terms of the number of non-landed resale homes sold from 2007 to February this year. Savills Research found 4,289 resale non-landed deals were done in the three-year period.

District 10, consisting of the Ardmore, Bukit Timah, Holland Road and Tanglin areas, was No. 2, with 3,622 transactions.

District 23 came in a surprise third, and registered the highest price growth of the top 10 hot spots, with prices rising 25.5 per cent. It takes in Hillview, Dairy Farm, Bukit Panjang and Choa Chu Kang, and had 2,837 sales.

If transactions in 2007 were excluded, District 23 would have surpassed District 10 in popularity. In other words, District 23 has become the second most popular hot spot for non-landed resale homes since 2008.

Ms Christine Sun, Savills’ senior manager for research and consultancy, said demand in District 23 could be due to attractive pricing, as the average unit price registered from 2007 to last year was still within the $500-$600 per sq ft range. Average prices reached $649 psf in the first two months of this year.

Given its proximity to the Bukit Timah belt and the nature reserves, this district has an edge over other areas in that price range, such as Tampines, Pasir Ris, Serangoon Gardens, Hougang and Punggol, Ms Sun added.

There are also a lot of developments in the area, such as The Warren, The Petals, The Madeira, Cashew Heights, Dairy Farm Estate, Regent Heights, Hillview Regency and Guilin View.

Ms Sun said the popularity of resale homes in District 15 may have been driven by the many launches in the area. Prices have risen in line with the launches, which draw attention to the area, she explained.

New launches since 2007 include Aalto, Parc Seabreeze, Silversea and The Seafront on Meyer. ‘People think the area is becoming hot and they start to see value in the area,’ she said.

Property experts said the area’s appeal lies in its sea views and proximity to well-known food places, the airport and the city. ‘It is an established residential area with ample amenities,’ said DTZ head of South-east Asia research Chua Chor Hoon.

‘There’s also a wide range of prices to suit different budgets, from the bigger, higher-priced condos in Tanjong Rhu to the small developments in Telok Kurau.’

Said Ms Sun: ‘In general, the next best areas to live in outside of Districts 9, 10 and 11 are in District 15, largely because of the sea view and the many good schools there such as Tao Nan School, CHIJ (Katong) Primary, Victoria Junior College and Chung Cheng High School.’

Ngee Ann Polytechnic real estate lecturer Nicholas Mak said: ‘District 15 has quite a big catchment of private homes so that may be why it has a high number of resale deals.

‘It has also been popular with the middle class and the upper middle class for a long time.’

Popular projects in District 15 include Water Place, The Waterside, Neptune Court, Mandarin Gardens and Cote D’Azur, Ms Sun said.

It came as no surprise that District 10, as a prime location, is popular with foreigners. Demand for homes in this area fell significantly in 2008 but has recovered somewhat since, she added.

Still, District 10 resale non-landed homes showed just 2.3 per cent growth in prices since 2007, from $1,386 psf in 2007 to $1,417 psf in the first two months of this year.

District 15 registered 14.8 per cent price growth, from $783 psf in 2007 to $899 psf on average in January and February this year.

Source : Straits Times – 30 Mar 2010

Malaysian tycoon Quek Leng Chan’s GuocoLand has sold 60 units at the freehold Goodwood Residence along prime Bukit Timah Road over the past two weekends at prices ranging from $2,355 psf to $2,555 psf for typical units.

Mr Quek himself picked up the biggest unit in the 12-storey project – a penthouse – for $18.8 million. His brother Leng Hai purchased another penthouse for slightly over $13.8 million and their sister Guat Kim bought an apartment on the eighth floor for about $6.03 million, according to statutory filings by Guoco-Land to the Singapore Exchange.

However, it was a mixed bag of results last week at Sentosa Cove for developers of three 99-year leasehold condo projects as they laboured to move units to savvy buyers who were comparing the relative merits of the three developments against their pricing.

Of the three Sentosa Cove projects, the best sales result was achieved by the joint venture between Ho Bee and Malaysia’s IOI; it sold 25 of the 40 units released at the 151-unit condo The Seascape. The development has a better orientation – directly facing the sea and located in Sentosa Cove’s choicer Southern Residential Precinct – than the other two projects on offer in the waterfront housing precinct.

The Seascape units sold comprise 18 three-bedroom apartments, six four-bedders and a penthouse. The Seascape does not have smaller units such as two bedders. The majority of the buyers were Singaporeans. About a quarter of the units were purchased by foreigners – from the US, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

The 25 units fetched an average price of about $2,700 psf, with achieved prices ranging from $2,619 psf to $2,880 psf. The sole penthouse sold was a four-bedroom unit of 4,252 sq ft on the sixth level; it sold for nearly $12 million. The Seascape is an eight-storey project with an attic level.

City Developments Ltd (CDL) said it has sold 14 of 56 units units released at the weekend at its 228-unit condo, The Residences at W Singapore Sentosa Cove. The units were released at $2,500-$3,000 psf. The condo comprises two- to four-bedroom apartments as well as penthouses. BT understands the units snapped up were mostly two and three bedders.

Lippo Group, which relaunched Marina Collection last week, is understood to have received expressions of interest from potential buyers but these have yet to translate into sales. Some potential buyers are said to have tried to seek discounts off Lippo’s $2,500-2,700 psf pricing.

‘This is the first time buyers have a choice of three new projects from developers at Sentosa Cove, whereas in the past, it was usually one launch at a time. So for now, buyers have the luxury of choice and the time to think about their purchase,’ said a property agent.

Buyers who visited Goodwood Residence’s showflat were drawn by the greenery of the location as well as within the proposed development, GuocoLand Singapore managing director Trina Loh told BT yesterday.

The site shares a 150-metre boundary with the Goodwood Hill tree conservation area. The development will also have about 500 trees planted to complement the existing 58 preserved tree. A manicured lawn of about 60 metres by 30 metres, greenwalls, two tennis courts and an Olympic-size swimming pool are among the other offerings.

GuocoLand has previewed the 12-storey project this month in Hong Kong and Singapore. Of the 60 units sold lately, 40 per cent were clinched by foreigners, led by Indonesians. Other foreign buyers include Malaysians, Australians, Indians and Europeans.

Two-bedroom apartments (of about 1,100 sq ft) in the development cost about $2.8 million on average, while the four-bedroom deluxe units – which have been popular – are priced at about $7.5 million on average. The average price of typical units among the 60 units transacted lately is $2,409 psf, according to Mrs Loh. In June 2008, Kuwait Finance House acquired 36 units in the condo at an average price of $2,800 psf. The project has a total 210 units.

Property giant Far East Organization sold a total 25 homes last week. The units span the group’s portfolio of projects, from the upgrader market to the luxury segment, and last week’s take-up was comparable to the preceding week, says the developer’s chief operating officer, property sales, Chia Boon Kuah.

High-end properties were also in demand at property auctions last week. An auction conducted by DTZ saw a one-bedroom unit of 775 sq ft at the freehold Claymore Plaza sold for $1.55 million or about $2,000 psf. A fourth floor studio apartment of 882 sq ft at The Beaumont, a freehold development at Devonshire Road, changed hands for $2,131 psf or $1.88 million at the same auction. Colliers International at its auction sold a 16th floor, 5-plus-1 bedroom apartment, of 2,701 sq ft for about $2,007 psf or $5.42 million. The buyer is Malaysian.

This weekend, market watchers expect CapitaLand to release new units at The InterLace in the Alexandra Road area.

Source : Business Times – 30 Mar 2010

At full capacity, the three schools can take in between 4,500 and 7,500 students.

Currently, there are 94,000 international students enrolled in government and private schools here.

The new foreign schools can occupy the former Chong Boon Primary School in Ang Mo Kio Street 44, the former Nan Chiau High School in Kim Yam Road and three empty sites in Bukit Batok Road, Punggol Field Walk and Yishun Avenue 1.

The first can open as early as 2013 and the other two within the next five years after that, to add to the 41 international schools operating here already.

This is the second time that the Government has released vacant land and properties to meet the schooling needs of the growing expatriate community.

In 2008, the Economic Development Board (EDB) announced that seven sites would be made available for up to four international schools to ease the supply crunch situation at that time.

Many international schools then were full, and the popular ones had long waiting lists. The shortage of places was so dire that it was a stumbling block for companies looking to bring in expatriate employees and their families.

When contacted, Member of Parliament Josephine Teo, the chairman of the Government Parliamentary Committee for Education, estimated that the three schools, if constructed, will ease the supply crunch – for now.

However, it remains to be seen if they would be sufficient in the long run as Singapore positions to be an attractive Asian hub for global talent, she told The Straits Times.

‘It will be a matter of time before the additional places may not be enough and we will need to review the situation,’ she said.

When asked if the expatriate community should consider Singapore schools for their children, Mrs Teo said there is already a growing number of foreigners who send their children to schools here to immerse them in a Mandarin-speaking environment.

However, expatriates may still prefer to send their children to international schools, she said.

Typically, most stay here for a few years before going back to their countries and prefer to send their children to international schools which they are more familiar with and can get used to quickly, Mrs Teo added.

The supply crunch had eased considerably since last year when a new international school Stamford American International School was set up. Older schools such as the United World College of South East Asia and the Australian International School Singapore have also expanded their premises.

The EDB’s executive director of human capital and professional services Toh Wee Khiang said that demand for places in international schools held strong last year despite the recession, and is expected to grow as the economy bounces back.

The EDB received more than 20 proposals in 2008 and Mr Toh expects the response from interested schools this time round to be ‘comparable’.

He said proposals would be assessed on factors such as quality of education programmes, track record, and investment commitments.

The EDB may make available other plots of land for international schools in the future based on strength of demand, he added.

Source : Straits Times – 29 Mar 2010

The building is the first structure for the CleanTech Park, and is due to be completed in December next year.

JTC Corporation, the industrial landlord, announced this at a news conference on Monday.

The two towers of the building have been designed with green sustainable features, including sky trellises that allow natural daylight into the buildings.

CleanTech One is on a 1.5 hectare site next to the Nanyang Technological University.

Building consultancy Surbana said it maximised the use of land and kept the layout naturally ventilated.

CleanTech One will house about 50 companies with green sustainability plans, including anchor tenant, Nanyang Technological University.

The CleanTech Park will be developed in three phases over 20 years.

Tang Wai Yee, director, Aerospace, Marine & CleanTech Cluster, JTC, said: “We hope to develop a very green CleanTech One, but in a practical and a cost-effective manner.

“And if this is successful, we will replicate the solution in the rest of the CleanTech Park and we will share this with the rest of Singapore and possibly in the region.

“CleanTech One will also be a test bed for urban solutions and sustainable development in the tropics. Hopefully, one day, new urban solutions, clean technologies will be discovered, developed or commercialised in CleanTech One.”

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 29 Mar 2010