Daily Briefing: HDB outlook in 2016; Battered Noble Group is ‘Bargain of the Decade’

And a lift upgrading is about to benefit 33,000 HDB households.

While condo transactions continue to be scrutinized by most market watchers, often due to the aspirational nature of the property class, it is necessary to keep an eye on HDB resales. To Singaporeans, HDB has always been a very bread and butter issue, with a large majority of families living in them. Furthermore, for those looking to upgrade from public housing, they would need to sell their HDB starter homes, hopefully with a decent upside, to be able to afford the move to condominiums, or executive condominiums (ECs). Read more here.

The worst performing stock on Singapore’s Straits Times Index is actually the bargain of the decade, according to Religare Capital Markets, which started coverage of commodity trader Noble Group Ltd. with a buy call backed by forecasts for rising profit and sales. The shares rallied. “The stock is at a quarter of its average valuation in the last decade,” analyst Nirgunan Tiruchelvam wrote in a report, with a target of 37 Singapore cents, compared with Thursday’s close of 27 cents. Find out more here.

National Development Minister Lawrence Wong on Thursday (28 Jan), said that the Housing and Development Board (HDB) has been working with the town councils to replace old lifts under the Selective Lift Replacement Programme (SLRP), reported Channel NewsAsia. He noted that the outcomes are being monitored by the Ministry of National Development (MND), which will decide on the next course of action. Read more here.