Tag: Singaporeans

Shops In Strata-Titled Malls Pull Out All The Stops To Avoid Closure

Standing in her shop in Beauty World Centre, Madam Sie Choo Yong, who is in her 90s, mustered a smile for every shopper who walked by — there were hardly any these days at the ageing mall which has become a pale shadow of its former glorious self. “Would you like a packet of crispy chips?” Mdm Sie would ask passers-by, in the hope of doing some business.

Lean Seng Lee Trading used to sell embroidery. Today, in order to survive, it sells biscuits, wafers and candies. Mdm Sie’s youngest son, Mr Tony Lean, said: “There are no buyers for needles and threads. We turned it into a food store — something easy for my mother to do. It’s not good to have her sit at home the whole day.”

The fading fortunes of Beauty World Centre — built in 1984 at a cost of S$45 million — is mirrored across the island: Strata-titled malls, where stallholders own the individual units, find themselves stuck in time and on the brink of oblivion.

According to R’ST Research, there are about 80 strata-titled malls in Singapore — many among them were household names in the past including Katong Shopping Centre, Queensway Shopping Centre, City Plaza and Golden Mile Complex, to name a few.

R’ST Research director Ong Kah Seng estimates that about a dozen are “resilient” and have adapted to consumers’ demand but at the other end of the spectrum, almost half are suffering. The ones in between are barely getting by.

The problems are strata-titled malls are well-documented: It is almost impossible to get individual owners to agree on issues ranging from collective sale to maintenance. Such malls have management councils made up of subsidiary proprietors to represent owners. Compared to institutions such as real estate investment trusts (Reits), management councils do not have strong profit incentive or the resources to keep the malls in tip-top condition.

There is also a lack of vision and coordination in terms of promotional or marketing efforts. The end result? A hodge-podge of retailers, often selling similar goods and services, housed in rundown malls in need of a facelift.

Beset with such issues, these malls face a challenge to stay relevant even in the best of times. With the retail scene currently under siege from the economic slowdown and the rise of e-commerce, the odds are stacked even more heavily against them.

Based on R’ST’s data, vacancy rates at strata-titled malls — which happen to include several of the oldest properties on the island — in the second quarter of the year reached about 10 per cent, compared to 7 per cent in malls managed by professionals.

New mixed developments including Alexandra Central along Jalan Bukit Merah and Junction Nine in Yishun are adding to the supply of strata-titled malls. Experts believe these shopping centres, including the older ones, can add to the retail scene and hold their own — if they capitalise on e-commerce, develop a niche and adapt to the changing business environment.

Indeed, some strata-titled malls —such as Queensway Shopping Centre, Lucky Plaza and Golden Mile Complex — have continued to thrive, developing a loyal following and offering an appealing alternative to shoppers put off by the cookie-cutter, glitzy shopping centres.

Apart from having a distinct character and positioning, these malls —with their lower rentals compared to shopping centres managed by Reits — offer entrepreneurs and smaller retailers an attractive option to set up a shopfront. In fact, the unit owners have a significant advantage over retailers in Reit-owned malls who are struggling with high rentals.

“The advantage of the shop owners at older malls is their brick-and–mortar presence, which is the expensive side of business. All they need to do is link it to online (operations) to pull traffic to their outlets,” said Singapore Polytechnic marketing and retail lecturer Mr Amos Tan.

For more than four decades, Mr M Nasir has been running Arcade Sports at Queensway Shopping Centre. On the changing consumer behaviour, he noted that customers these days would first do their research online to find out the range of products and the best prices before heading down to the malls. To stay in the business, prices have to be competitive but Mr Nasir stressed that service quality is key.

Compared to the footfall at swanky new malls, “people come here with a purpose — they have in mind what they want to buy,” Mr Nasir observed. “That way, chances of a customer buying in my shop is higher and we win them with quality service,” he said.

Stressing the importance of tapping into e-commerce, an owner of a mobile communications shop at Golden Mile Complex said: “Online presence is helping us survive. There is no other way to pull buyers here. But the older generation of shop owners have no idea on how to get business back on track.”

The experts said that with their proximity to large population catchments, as well as MRT stations or bus interchanges, some older strata-titled malls are well-positioned to reinvent themselves. One way to do so is by attracting entrepreneurs to their fold, they added.

Adding that these shopping centres could consider engaging consultants to come up with new strategies to draw in the crowds, Mr Ong said: “Unit owners should look at sharing shop space with young entrepreneurs. As they pull in crowd with their social media skills, other shops in the mall will automatically benefit.”

This is already happening at some malls. Mr Ryan Wee, 28, who owns Ham Baobao Burger at Beauty World Centre, told TODAY: “This place is just perfect for us. It didn’t make sense for us to set shop at a high-end mall where rents are high and survival is tough. Though the mall is old, customers come back and social media helps us bring in more.”

Associate Professor Seshan Ramaswami at the Singapore Management University suggested that unit owners reach out to budding retailers — for example, students at LASALLE College of the Arts or the Nanyang Academy of Fine Arts — and provide the shop space for them to showcase their offerings over a limited period for nominal rent, or even for free. “This will attract more people to the mall. Usually young retailers have many special concepts, and are technologically driven … If these young retailers do well, (the unit owners) can consider extending longer lease to them,” he added.

Source: TODAY Online

October 10, 2016
Shorter Wait For BTO Flats On The Horizon: Lawrence Wong

Young couples will soon be able to move into their new homes quicker, as the Government is looking to shorten the wait for public housing.

When implemented, the move will see the waiting period for Build-To-Order (BTO) flats dip to two to three years, from the current three to four years, said National Development Minister Lawrence Wong last week.

He was speaking to The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao in his first sit-down interview since taking over the portfolio a year ago.

Referring to young couples who are buying flats for the first time, Mr Wong said: “We would like to see how we can help them settle down and get their flat faster.”

He noted that some couples who urgently need their own flat currently opt for provisional housing or balance flats not sold in previous launches. Such balance flats are closer to completion, but are subject to balloting as well. “The demand for moving in is always there, that’s why balance flats are always more popular… People want to move in as soon as possible,” he said.

The shorter wait will be achieved by bringing forward construction and building ahead of BTO launches. But this will not apply across the entire housing stock, Mr Wong said. “It’s not possible because you just can’t construct all the flats within such a short period.”

Doing so would risk building too much ahead of demand and ending up with a redundant housing inventory, he added.

To be meaningful, the waiting time has to be shortened by one to two years, Mr Wong said.

“There will be a range of BTO flats with different waiting times… so people can pick and choose,” he said, adding that this spells more options for more home buyers.

Special education teacher Pearlyn Tay, 25, who is getting married in December, said a shorter wait will help young couples who want their own place after getting married.

“Logistically, it’s very difficult for couples to wait four years… So many people are applying for BTO flats first, before they even propose (marriage),” said Ms Tay. She and her fiance, marketing manager Russell Tan, 26, will be moving in with his parents after the wedding.

Mr Wong said the shorter wait will be pushed out as soon as possible, but added that the Housing Board still needs to work out the details. “Exactly how many of these units can we offer, what steps do we need to take in order to advance the construction process – that’s something we are all studying now.”

Mr Wong said he does not expect prices of flats with shorter waits to be higher, adding that price points are “more location specific”.

Shorter waits for BTO flats is one of three areas that Mr Wong’s ministry hopes to focus on going forward.

The second involves making it easier for seniors to unlock the value of their flats for retirement. The third will be the rolling out of the Fresh Start Housing Scheme from February’s BTO launch. It will help families with young children in public rental flats buy homes again.

Mr Wong also touched on other housing-related issues during the interview. He said that property cooling measures, which have dampened demand for homes and pushed down prices, are still needed to keep the market stable.

Future public housing projects in coveted downtown areas might come with stricter resale conditions, he added, in a bid to mitigate any “windfall effect” from the resale profits and ensure more equity.

Source: The Straits Times

October 10, 2016
Abd’ Al-Halim: The New Poor In Singapore Are Majority Malays

AsSalaam’alaikum!

This has happened before several years ago but when Al-Jazeera covered it, to hide their utter shame, the government banned the broadcast station in Singapore. At the time, there were several malay families who were kicked out of their HDB flats who had no alternative but to live in tents. The Malays were the most hard hit whenever there is any economic trouble. They are the first to be retrenched and the last to be employed. Now with the unbridled influx of foreign workers and the ongoing Islamophobia and general hatred for the Malays, even Malays with high qualification find it very very hard to get jobs. And when any Malay complain about their situation they will be told that they are too choosy or are simply not as well qualified because, this is after all, a meritocracy! This is the result of such macro-economic and socio-political mismanagement that further disadvantage the Malay-Muslims. It is a good thing that the Malays do not turn to crime as they still have not lost their faith in Islam. I worry that is a matter of time because desperate people do desperate things – Children need food shelter, proper sanitation and education.

There must be transparency in this. We need to know the racial breakdown of these people. It is also ironic to note that the PAP government had since the 60’s destroyed the kampung villages and appropriated the lands of the Malays via legislation of URA laws but now the Malays are returning to set up kampungs (villages) with a penghulu to boot. Another question is, where are the zakat (&/ waqaf) officials? Are they at ready only to collect but when there is such a clear need to disburse the funds they are not to be found?

In the early 90’s the opposition spoke about the rise of the “New Poor” in Singapore. Well, if we are not careful, the new poor will, by and large be the Malays.

Source: Ustaz Abd’ Al-Halim

October 10, 2016
Walid J. Abdullah: Trump-Supporting Bigots Living Among Us

How is it possible that there are people in Singapore who are rooting for Trump?

I don’t want to make excuses for Americans who support him, but at least you could attribute part of their support to 1) loyalty to the party, 2) growing socio-economic concerns and racism/misogyny/xenophobia become the manifestations of these fears, and 3) failure of the left to address their issues.

Apart from there being outright racists, misogynists and xenophobes amongst the Republican base, of course.

But why does he have support in Singapore? These people (arguably) have no direct stake in the election, and yet they support a clearly anti-Muslim, anti-Hispanic, anti-Black, male chauvinist, who cheated the system and bragged about not doing his fair bit for society, and who has zero experience in public office.

Yet he has a following???

That, is far more scary to me than Trump getting elected. Because whether Trump wins or not, evidently, there are bigots living amongst us.

Source: Walid J. Abdullah

October 10, 2016
Singapore Businesses Quizzed By Chinese Counterparts Over Their Stand On South China Sea Issue

Following the back-and-forth between Singapore and Chinese state-owned newspaper Global Times over the South China Sea issue, some Singapore businessmen with interests in China are being questioned by their Chinese counterparts, on where they stand on the matter.

Singapore companies TODAY spoke to are concerned that this, along with the increasingly shrill comments by Chinese netizens in response to the newspaper’s provocative articles, would eventually affect their businesses.

Restaurant chain Tung Lok Group has operations in Beijing and Shanghai. Its executive chairman Andrew Tjioe noted the nationalistic fervour in a country “where everything seems to be about politics”. “I’m hoping, though, that consumers in China are mature enough to know how to separate politics and business,” he said.

Agreeing, Mr Ho Meng Kit, chief executive officer of Singapore Business Federation, added: “If this drags on, and there’s widespread anger or hostility towards Singapore products, we’ll be concerned. The Chinese are very nationalistic. I think it’s important that Singapore’s side of the story gets heard in China as the Global Times is not balanced. We hope that the Chinese citizens get a balanced view of the situation.”

Last Tuesday (Oct 4), Members of Parliament (MPs) were briefed on the situation by the Cabinet. MPs told TODAY that concerns of businesses were reflected at the briefing and clarifications were also sought on the actual situation, beyond the rhetoric in the Chinese press.

On Saturday, the topic was also raised at an annual gathering between MPs and grassroots leaders, with Chinese clan associations in attendance.

Mr Koh Chin Yee, chief executive officer of Singapore-based think-tank Longus Research Institute, which does work on China and Asia geopolitics, had previously worked in China for nine years and has ties with the Singapore business community there.

He said: “Such talk among netizens has translated to real life debate… and has caused disturbances to businessmen operating in China. Singapore businessmen in China have told me that they get questioned about their stand on the South China Sea issue, by their counterparts in China.”

Over the past weeks, Global Times had published a series of reports critical of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s official visit to Japan last month, which sparked criticisms of Singapore among Chinese netizens. On Chinese social media network Weibo as well as on the newspaper’s websites, scores of netizens lashed out at Singapore — for example, accusing the Republic of siding with the United States and Japan over the South China Sea issue. Some also remarked that Singapore should know its place as a small country while others said they would stay away from Singapore and other countries in Southeast Asia which “oppose China”.

The Global Times reports came on the back of a public exchange of words between the tabloid and Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The newspaper claimed that the Republic had tried to push for a stronger statement on the international tribunal’s ruling on the South China Sea at the NAM summit last week in Venezuela.

This sparked a pushback from Singapore’s ambassador to China Stanley Loh, who said the claim was fabricated, false and unfounded. But the Global Times maintained its sources were credible, and said Mr Loh should urge Singapore to “conduct self-reflection” instead. In response, Mr Loh stated that the crux of the matter is that Global Times’ Sept 21 report did not accurately reflect the proceedings at the recent NAM Summit, which can be verified by the public record of the meeting.

While Singapore companies said they have not been affected adversely, at least one foreign company has claimed that earnings have taken a hit due to the South China Sea territorial disputes on business.

Last week, Yum Brands — which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell — attributed the company’s weak financial results in China to the spat and a United Nations tribunal ruling in July that China’s claims violate international law. Yum CEO Greg Creed said: “Anticipated tougher laps in the second half of the third quarter were compounded by an international court ruling on claims regarding the South China Sea, which triggered a series of regional protests and negative sentiment against a few international companies with well-known Western brands.”

Referring to Yum’s predicament, Tanjong Pagar GRC Member of Parliament Joan Pereira, who sits on the Government Parliamentary Committee for defence and foreign affairs, pointed out that the “risk to trade and business is real”.

“This makes it important for the Government to clarify the misreporting in the Global Times, which is exactly what our Ambassador has been doing,” she said. She reiterated that in the South China Sea disputes, as well all international issues, Singapore’s national interest “lies not in taking sides but in supporting a rule-based world order”.

Source: TODAY Online

October 10, 2016