Daily Briefing: Singapore 2G switchoff highlights digital divide; Buyer scores a bargain at St Regis Residences

And here's how you know if you are compensated fairly in land acquisition.

When Singapore pulls the plug on its 2G mobile phone network this year, thousands of people could be stuck without a signal -- digital have-nots left behind by the relentless march of technology. From technophobic pensioners to cash-strapped migrant workers, some 140,000 people in highly-wired Singapore still use the city-state's second generation (2G) network and cheap, robust handsets. First rolled out in 1994 -- when playing Snake was the pinnacle of mobile entertainment -- 2G has long been superseded technologically, with new gold standard 5G offering lightning fast connectivity for a generation used to streaming movies and TV directly to phones. Read more here.

One of the first few resale transactions in 2017 resulted in a hefty loss for the seller. On Jan 3, a high-floor unit at St Regis Residences Singapore was sold at a loss of $2.3 million. The seller bought the unit in a sub-sale transaction in 2008 at $3,100 psf and resold it at $2,268 psf. The loss works out to 27%, or 4% annually over 8½ years. The buyer, a Singaporean, appeared to have scored a bargain. There have been a total of 237 transactions at St Regis so far, based on caveats lodged. The latest price of $2,268 psf was in the bottom 16% of all historical transactions at the development. Check out full story here.

If your property were to be acquired by the government, how much compensation would you be entitled to? The recent spate of compulsory land acquisitions to make way for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR), North-South Expressway and new MRT lines might raise questions on matters pertaining to compensation. Click here to know if you are compensated fairly in land acquisition.