Daily Briefing: Property firms expect more transactions in Phase 2 reopening; Sparrow raises $4.86m series A led by BitMEX owner

And stricter requirements for embalmers under new rules for licensed funeral parlours.

From Channel News Asia:

Property agents are gearing up to serve more home buyers who want to view showrooms and resale residential units in person, in Phase 2 of reopening, as potential buyers were unable to do so for more than two months due to restrictions.

ERA Realty Network’s division director Benjamin Poh said his team of 20 agents closed eight HDB resale flat transactions over the weekend, almost triple the number they would sell on a regular weekend before the pandemic.

Poh added that the demand to view HDB resale flats was higher compared to new private launches because potential buyers want to check on the condition of the flat.

There is a pent-up demand for properties post-circuit breaker, said George Tan, managing director of Savills Residential Projects Sales & Associates.

“We have received many requests for appointments to view the properties since clients were not able to do so during the circuit breaker,” he said. “Many clients have done virtual viewings and Zoom presentations but nothing beats the physical seeing and experience of the actual show flat and property.”

Read more here. 

From e27:

Singapore-based options trading platform Sparrow has secured $4.86m (US$3.5m) in series A funding, led by the HDR Group, owner and operator of crypto exchange BitMEX.

Signum Capital, Du Capital, FinLab EOS VC also participated in the funding round.

Sparrow offers BTC and ETH options that are settled by smart contracts. Its proprietary platform is accessible through an interface, advanced order book, or trading APIs.

Sparrow’s CEO Kenneth Yeo said that the company has seen unprecedented growth since its launch in 2019, with over $208.4m (US$150m) in options trading volume.

“Volumes have tripled since the start of the year. We look forward to introducing more innovative products to the crypto derivatives market,” he added.

Read more here.

From Channel News Asia:

Licensed funeral parlours with embalming facilities will have to ensure that they allow only experienced embalmers who have taken basic infection control courses to work at their premises, under new rules for the industry.

The new conditions are aimed at improving and uplifting the standards of funeral services in Singapore, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA) .

Licensees were informed of the new conditions, which were jointly developed by NEA and the Association of Funeral Directors Singapore (AFD). The new conditions come after at least two high-profile incidents over the past year that thrust the industry in the spotlight.

Under the new conditions for licensees, all embalmers who work at funeral parlours with embalming facilities must be registered with NEA and have attended the Basic Infection Control Course conducted by the National Centre for Infectious Diseases (NCID).

They must also have carried out embalming procedures on at least 25 bodies in Singapore, supervised by another registered embalmer.

Read more here.