SGHOUSING.COM 新加坡房地产网

KSH bags $121m Sentosa condo job; Lian Beng nets two deals worth $90m.

RIDING the continuing boom, two construction firms announced big contracts yesterday.

KSH Holdings said it has won a contract worth more than $121 million for the construction of a luxury condominium, Seascape at Sentosa Cove, which is jointly owned by Ho Bee Investment and IOI Land.

And Lian Beng Group said it has been awarded two contracts worth $90.2 million in total - one from Voda Land for the construction of a condominium, Amber Residences, and the other for an industrial building at Paya Lebar iPark, awarded by Scorpio East Properties .

KSH said the Sentosa contract brings its construction order book to more than $614 million. Work on the 151-unit Seascape is scheduled to start next month and is expected to be completed in 28 months.

‘This is our fourth high-end residential project at Sentosa Cove since The Berth By The Cove and The Berthside, which were awarded in June 2004 and completed in October 2006, and the fifth for us here including One°15 Marina Club,’ said KSH executive chairman and managing director Choo Chee Onn.

KSH’s order book has grown more than 162 per cent in less than 16 months, Mr Choo said.

Lian Beng said its two contracts bring its order book to about $700 million.

The Amber Residences contract is worth $73.5 million while the design-and-build contract for the building at Paya Lebar iPark is worth $16.7 million. Work on Amber Residences is expected to start in May 2008 and will be completed over 30 months, while the other contract is expected to be completed by early 2009.

Both companies are gunning for more contracts. ‘The demand for construction services is still very strong, and there are many more projects out there for tender,’ said Lian Beng’s managing director Ong Pang Aik.

Analysts agree, saying that even as the property market takes a breather, the construction sector continues to recover, driven by a new phase of nationwide projects.

‘We are still sanguine about the sector’s prospects, given the development plans in place for the island, and the visibility it offers against the backdrop of uncertainty tainting the global economy,’ Phillip Securities analyst Stella Tan said in a recent note.

KSH shares gained 1.5 cents to close at 41.5 cents yesterday, while Lian Beng’s stock rose half a cent to close at 40.5 cents.

Source : Business Times - 13 Mar 2008

KSH Holdings has secured a S$121 million contract to construct luxury condominium development Seascape at Sentosa Cove.

This project puts its order book at more than S$614 million.

The contract was signed by the construction, property development and management group’s subsidiary, Kim Seng Heng Engineering Construction. The deal was awarded by Seaview, a company co-owned by Ho Bee Investment and IOI Land Singapore.

The project will have two blocks of 8-storey residential flats. Comprising 151 units, the condominium development comes with attached attics, a basement car park, swimming pool and communal facilities.

Construction work is scheduled to commence in April 2008 and expected to be completed within 28 months.

Source : ChannelNewsAsia - 12 Mar 2008

Singapore construction firm Lian Beng Group has won two contracts worth a total of S$90.2 million.

The first is a S$73.5 million contract to build a 21-storey freehold condominium Amber Residences along East Coast Road. The building contractor also sealed a deal worth S$16.7 million to build a 7-storey industrial building at Paya Lebar i-Park.

Work on the projects will begin in May and is expected to be completed by November 2010.

Lian Beng says its total orders now stand at some S$700 million.

In January, Lian Beng partnered LaSalle Investment Management to acquire Emerald Mansion for redevelopment for S$148 million.

Source : ChannelNewsAsia - 12 Mar 2008

The construction industry is expected to lead Singapore’s economic growth this year, according to 19 economists polled in the latest quarterly survey by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS).

They projected an expansion of 15.9 per cent for the construction sector this year, up 2.4 percentage points from the forecast in the previous MAS survey in December.

Analysts Channel NewsAsia spoke to, shared their optimism.

OCBC Bank’s vice-president for treasury research and strategy, Emmanuel Ng, said: “There are still certain sectors expected to exhibit resilience this year - those that are largely less exposed to external weakening. We look to construction, financial services, as well as wholesale and retail.”

UOB’s economist, Ho Woei Chen, said: “There’s still building on the IRs (integrated resorts), Marina Bay Financial Centre, Sports Hub in Kallang. There’s still a lot of road projects going on, this will keep the construction sector growing by double digits this year.”

The construction sector grew 20.3 per cent last year.

In the MAS survey, economists also revised upwards their growth expectations for the financial sector, to 9.5 per cent, due to support from strong loans growth in January.

UOB’s Ho Woei Chen said: “Financial sector is another bright spot, based on survey results. The sector will continue to see strong growth this year, but will be lower than 17 per cent we saw last year. There’s support from loans growth, which we saw coming in quite strongly in (the) month of January.”

However, analysts expect growth in the manufacturing and hotels & restaurants sectors to slow due to rising oil prices and a slowdown in the US economy.

OCBC Bank’s Emmanuel Ng said: “Between the last survey in December and now, I think the situation in the US macro picture has deteriorated significantly, especially from the non-farm numbers last Friday. As a result, I think markets have revised down their expectations for US growth profile.”

On inflation in Singapore, economists surveyed said they expect consumer prices to rise to a median 5 per cent this year, against last year’s 2.1 per cent.

They also expect the central bank to keep to its current monetary policy of allowing the Singapore dollar to appreciate gradually.

UOB’s Ho Woei Chen said: “There’s some speculation of Singdollar tightening in April. We see some possibility of that, but we have to take into account growth risk, going forward. It may not be a good idea to have Singdollar strengthening too excessively given that we are seeing some slowdown in external growth… this could hurt export sector further.”

The Singapore economy is expected to grow by between 4 and 6 percent this year, based on official forecasts.

Source : ChannelNewsAsia - 10 Mar 2008

Poh Lian Construction, a unit of United Fiber System, has won the building contract to redevelop a site formerly known as Green Meadows condominium along Upper Thomas Road.

The contract, awarded by UOL Development, is worth about S$202 million.

The award of the project has boosted Poh Lian’s order book to a new record of S$550 million, up 58 percent since January 31.

Poh Lian said the latest contract is expected to contribute positively to the group and is expected to have a material impact on its current year’s results.

Details of the contract are still being finalised.

Poh Lian said it will disclose the financial impact on the group’s net tangible assets and earnings per share at a later date.

Source : ChannelNewsAsia - 6 Mar 2008