Daily Briefing: Why Singapore economy isn't as bad as you think; HDB unveils 5,110 flats under BTO exercise

And here's what you need to know before investing in Retail REITs.

Speaking at a dialogue session at the U Future Leaders Summit, NTUC Secretary-General Mr Chan Chun Sing mentioned that he has heard people raise concerns the last few weeks over global events such as Brexit and the US elections, while closer to home, there have been a fair share of issues to deal with. For Mr Chan, Singapore must focus on its fundamentals, namely government, business and workers. He cautioned against getting too distracted by short-term changes and short-term numbers, and highlighted that it is important to understand how to respond to the fundamentals mentioned above, as that would be vital to helping Singapore maintain its competitiveness in the long run. Get to know more of his views here. 

The Housing and Development Board of Singapore has launched 5,110 flats under the Nov 2016 Build-To-Order (BTO) exercise. It has also unveiled 5,008 flats under the Sale of Balance Flats (SBF) exercise, bringing the number of launches to 10,118. These flats are scattered across 25 towns or estates. This joint BTO and SBF exercise are the largest ones this year. Get to know where these flats are located here.

What are the things you need to know before investing in Retail REITs? For starters, properties under Retail REITs can be located either in metropolitan city centres or suburban neighbourhoods and they usually exist as an integrated project consisting of not only retail outlets but other amenities such as bowling alleys, cinemas and skating rinks as well. One downside of Retail REITs is that they do not enjoy the luxury of long term leases with their tenants. Unlike Office REITs or Hospitality REITs that enjoy leases that last as long as 20 years, Retail REITs depend on short term leases from retailers, some of which are as short as only a few months long. Get to know other advantages and disadvantages here.