Daily Briefing: Lakepoint en bloc sale launched $640m; Singapore's Ocean Tankers gear up for new IMO rules

And Singapore chipmakers slash headcounts as semiconductors sales fall 10-12%.

From PropertyGuru:

Lakepoint Condominium has been launched for an en bloc sale priced at $640m.

Developed by Jurong Town Corporation, the 36-year-old property comprises 304 residential units that range from studio units to penthouses, as well as five shop units. It is nestled on a 99-year leasehold site, which has an area of 52,238 sqm and a plot ratio of 1.4.

The development is near Jurong Innovation District, Jurong Industrial Park and Jurong Mega Port. It is a five-minute walk from Lakeside MRT station and is close to shopping malls like Westgate, JEM, IMM and JCube.

Joint marketing agents Strata AMC and SLP International Property Consultants noted that a pre-application feasibility study indicated that the site could support higher density development on the basis of traffic impact studies.

“Interested developers are thus encouraged to explore an intensification of plot ratio for redevelopment of the site,” they said.

Read more here.

From Reuters:

Demand for low-sulphur marine fuels in Singapore climbed to a record high in June as the shipping industry prepares for the new IMO rules.

With a little over five months left until stricter marine fuel rules come into effect, shippers that own very large crude carriers, like Ocean Tankers, have started testing out lower sulphur fuel to prepare their fleet for the transition.

New International Maritime Organization (IMO) rules prohibiting ships from using fuels containing more than 0.5% sulphur, compared with 3.5% currently, will start on 1 January 2020, as a way to combat air pollution.

The move will affect fuel supplies to more than 50,000 merchant ships globally. Shippers will have to either invest in exhaust cleaning systems, known as scrubbers, to continue using cheaper high-sulphur fuels, or burn more expensive oil products, such as very low-sulphur fuel oil (VLSFO) and marine gasoil, or use liquefied natural gas (LNG).

Read more here.

From Reuters:

Caught between ongoing trade disputes, concerns over Chinese telecoms firm Huawei and slowing consumer demand, chipmakers in Singapore have started slowing production and laying off hundreds of jobs, firms told Reuters.

The slump in a sector that made up nearly a third of Singapore’s manufacturing output last year is reinforcing expectations that the export-driven economy could slide into recession in the coming months.

Making microchips for everything from cell phones to cars has long been central to the success of Singapore, the tiny trading island seen as a bellwether for the global economy.

“We are already seeing that this downturn is different,” said Ang Wee Seng, executive director for the Singapore Semiconductor Industry Association (SSIA).

Ang said he was “preparing for the worst” and putting his staff on standby to help any laid off workers try and find new jobs.

Read more here.