Daily Briefing: Singapore may relax some curbs this year; Singapore’s weak office market

And Ho Bee suffers impairment loss from Sentosa condo.

The longest losing streak in Singapore residential prices in 17 years may prompt the government to take its foot off the brakes and relax some property curbs this year, the city-state’s second-biggest developer said. Kwek Leng Beng, the billionaire executive chairman of City Developments Ltd., said mid-income and low-end housing could see further price declines and the high-end market remains subdued. Read more here.

Office rents in Singapore slid in Q4 2015 amid the lacklustre business sentiment that has forced some companies to scale back operations, according to the latest report from Knight Frank. At the end of December, gross effective rents in the city-state dipped 2.5 percent to US$88.6 per sq m on a quarterly basis. This represents a decline of 2.8 percent from the same period in 2014, and values may fall further in the next 12 months, said the consultancy. Find out more here.

Ho Bee Land, a leading developer of luxury homes in Sentosa Cove, revealed on Thursday (25 Feb) that the group has suffered an impairment loss of $34.7 million due to its 35 percent interest in the Cape Royale development in Sentosa. The Singapore-listed firm also reported a 23 percent slump in full-year net profit to $242.2 million from 2014. Read more here.