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Oct 4, 2007

Hostile end to Horizon Towers hearing

By Fiona Chan

TENSIONS ran high at the already prickly Horizon Towers hearing yesterday, as lawyers fought over who would have the last word.

The heated exchanges lasted less than an hour but they were more hostile than any of the previous day-long sessions since last Friday.

They brought to a close the appeal over the estate's bungled collective sale - an appeal peppered by barbed comments between highly paid lawyers and regular jeers and boos from the public gallery.

The only lawyer scheduled to speak yesterday was Senior Counsel Chelva Rajah of Tan, Rajah and Cheah. He represents the condominium's majority owners, who have asked the High Court to overturn the Strata Titles Board's (STB's) dismissal of their collective sale application in August.

Mr Rajah was to reply to arguments made by the minority owners' lawyers on Tuesday. The minority owners want the STB decision upheld.

But even before he could speak, Senior Counsel K.Shanmugam - representing the Horizon Towers buyers - attempted to have the final say. He asked Justice Choo Han Teck for '10 to 15 minutes' after Mr Rajah's speech to address some of the 'new' points raised on Tuesday.

Barely had Mr Shanmugam finished his request when Senior Counsel Michael Hwang and Senior Counsel K.S. Rajah, who each represent a different group of minority owners, were on their feet to object.

Although Justice Choo stayed the conflict by asking Mr Chelva Rajah to proceed with his remarks, Mr Shanmugam rose again once Mr Rajah was finished.

His plea to be allowed a response was interrupted by Mr Hwang, who said it would be 'unfair' to allow Mr Shanmugam 'a second bite of the cherry when he should have said all this in the first place'.

Justice Choo proposed two peace options: either Mr Shanmugam got five minutes to speak, or all the lawyers were to read his new points and respond in writing within the day.

Mr Hwang opted for the second option almost at the same time that Mr Shanmugam chose the first. It all looked quite comic to the tittering public gallery but the tension in the courtroom remained high, prompting Justice Choo to close the session without allowing Mr Shanmugam's speech.

In the end, only Mr Rajah had a say yesterday. He noted that Parliament will soon formally give the STB powers to ignore technical flaws - such as the three missing pages in Horizon Towers' collective sale application - showing that the STB was always intended to have these powers.

Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access

Oct 4, 2007

Land authority's sales soar to nine-year high

It chalks up sales revenue of $6.3b on the back of red-hot property market; rental income rises a third

By Tan Hui Yee

THE booming property market sent sales revenue at the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to a nine-year high of $6.3 billion.

Its bumper result was still well shy of the record return achieved in the 1997 financial year, when the red-hot market pushed sales revenue to $14 billion.

The SLA manages state properties and also sells them to private companies and other government agencies at market value.

Its annual report out yesterday showed that it sold $3.55 billion worth of land to the private sector in the 12 months ended March 31 - about 8 per cent higher than in the previous year.

Some of this land included plots in Lim Chu Kang, which the SLA specially designated for agricultural and entertainment use.

A further $2.75 billion came from land sold to other government agencies, such as the 21ha plot for the Marina Bay integrated resort. This was bought by the Singapore Tourism Board for $1.2 billion and later taken over by developer Las Vegas Sands.

Rental revenue grew 33 per cent to $514 million, bolstered by takings from the booming Tanglin Village food and beverage cluster and the lease of the former Pearl's Hill Primary School, which is being turned into a boutique hotel.

Tanglin Village, in the Dempsey Hill area, is a thriving development of upmarket restaurants, bars and other businesses that have sprouted on the refurbished former military buildings managed by the SLA.

The authority helped to make the cluster more appealing by adding entrance and building markers, as well as creating an outdoor space for events.

Another state property adapted for new purposes is the former Changi Hospital, which the SLA tendered for use as a spa and resort development. The 7,900 sq m property is undergoing a $20 million makeover.

The authority's recent business-friendly moves have been noticed by property consultants such as Mr Ku Swee Yong.

The director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore suggested that the SLA could try extending the leases of its rental properties so that businesses would be more inclined to sink money into refurbishing state real estate.

Many of the SLA's properties are rented on three-year leases, which can be renewed up to nine years, but this may not be enough for a business to make a profit from its investment, said Mr Ku.

The SLA's operating surplus grew by 35 per cent to $17.1 million.

Meanwhile, another state agency, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), collected $2.7 billion from land sales in the financial year ended March 31.

Although the URA sold 16 sites in that period, compared with nine the year before, sales revenue dropped by 5 per cent because last year's takings were bolstered by high-value sites such as the business and financial centre in Marina Bay and the commercial plot at Orchard Turn.

The URA's operating surplus more than tripled to $14.8 million, helped by higher agency fees from selling sites and income from processing more applications for development.

tanhy@sph.com.sg

Copyright © 2007 Singapore Press Holdings. All rights reserved. Privacy Statement & Condition of Access

Oct 4, 2007

New en bloc rules kick in today

Changes meant to make sale process more regulated and transparent

By Fiona Chan, Property Reporter

NEW collective sale regulations will kick in today - a few weeks earlier than many in the industry had expected.

The rules, which were passed in Parliament two weeks ago, were expected to take effect this month, but a date had not been specified.

The much-anticipated announcement, which came yesterday, took some en bloc players by surprise.

'We thought it was going to be later, and expected the Government to give more lead notice as well,' said Mr Jeremy Lake, executive director of investment properties at property firm CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).

He added that 'initial indications were that they were likely to kick in only at the end of the month'.

The changes are aimed at making the sale process more regulated and transparent.

They require more conditions to be fulfilled, such as adhering to stricter requirements on setting up a sales committee and providing a five-day cooling-off period for owners to change their minds after signing the collective sale agreement.

The changes will apply to all developments that, as of today, have not obtained consent from enough owners to go en bloc - 80 per cent of owners by share value, or 90 per cent for estates less than 10 years old.

It will be back to the drawing board for the owners of these developments, who will have to start the collective sale process all over again and do so by the new rules.

Most property firms said they each had 'two or three' en-bloc estates that will be affected by today's changes.

But CBRE's Mr Lake expressed relief that there was clarity on when the rules would finally kick in.

Indeed, for the last few weeks, a few projects had been suspended because no one knew when the changes would take effect, said Mr Tan Hong Boon, executive director of Credo Real Estate.

'Most lawyers were also not prepared to quote their fees for new en-bloc projects because they didn't know how much more work they would have to do under the new rules,' added Mr Tan.

Some consultants scrambled last night to get the last one or two signatures.

Mr Steven Ming, director of investment sales at Savills Singapore, said he had expected to have 'one or two more weeks to get the last few signatures'.

'I guess I will have to work overnight,' he joked.

Other consultants, such as Jones Lang LaSalle's head of investments, Mr Lui Seng Fatt, said they have been advising would-be en-bloc sellers to follow the new rules since last month.

'Fortunately, none will have to start all over again,' he said.

fiochan@sph.com.sg

This story was printed from TODAYonline

Legal exchange rivets gallery

Majority owners of Horizon Towers get their day in court

Thursday • October 4, 2007

Loh Chee Kong
cheekong@mediacorp.com.sg

IN CONTRAST to the thunder and fury of the past few days, the legal dispute surrounding the botched Horizon Towers en bloc sale ended on a muted note yesterday — less than 45 minutes after it started in the High Court.

Nevertheless, it was a day the packed courtroom — comprising mainly the condo's residents — relished, going by their obvious delight when Senior Counsel K Shanmugam, who represents the prospective buyers, was repeatedly denied the chance to address the court.

The majority owners are appealing against the Strata Titles Board's decision to abort the proposed $500-million deal on technical irregularities — three pages containing the signatures of three majority owners were missing from the documents.

Yesterday, the majority owners' lawyer, Senior Counsel Chelva Rajah, was finally given the chance to respond to points raised by the lawyers for the minority owners, who hope to sink the deal for good.

But before the hearing began, Mr Shanmugam asked Justice Choo Han Teck for permission to speak after Mr Rajah. Justice Choo's response that he would decide after listening to Mr Rajah drew cheers from the gallery.

Mr Rajah reiterated that the sale order application was "not invalid", since two of the missing pages were actually tendered to the STB in a separate bundle, while the third page was submitted before the board's hearing ended.

While lawyers for the minority owners had argued that the latest changes to the law for en bloc sales, which empower the STB to disregard technical or procedural irregularities, meant it lacked this authority previously, Mr Rajah argued otherwise.

He said: "The fact that Parliament is putting up the Bill doesn't mean it had a change of mind. It's far more likely that Parliament all along intended the board to have the power."

In his written submission, he said that even without the three signatures, the consent level for the sale was 82.51 per cent — above the required 80 per cent.

As soon as Mr Rajah was done, Mr Shanmugam, who is also a Member of Parliament, requested to take the judge through parliamentary reports to show that the legislative amendments "in fact show Parliament's true intentions". He also wanted to highlight an earlier court case to illustrate the STB's jurisdiction to amend applications.

But Senior Counsel Michael Hwang, who was representing a minority owner, objected to this "second bite of the cherry". If the judge allowed Mr Shanmugam's request, said Mr Hwang, the other lawyers had to be given the chance to respond as well.

Justice Choo gave them the choice of either "five minutes" each to address the court again or to respond in writing to a written submission of Mr Shanmugam's additional points.

While Mr Shanmugam wanted the first option, Mr Hwang chose the second and the other four lawyers present agreed with him. The judge went with the majority and gasps of "yes" were heard from the gallery.

Justice Choo is expected to give his ruling next week.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

This story was printed from TODAYonline

Industry weighs new en bloc rules

Players note changes protect minority owners, improve sales proceedings

Thursday • October 4, 2007


Esther Fung
esther@mediacorp.com.sg

Changes to regulations governing collective property sales — which take effect today — favour the minority owners, said lawyers and property experts at an en bloc property seminar yesterday.

They could get a higher sales price if their objections to the sale are valid, while the provision for a change of mind following the signing of the collective agreement is generous, they said. Lawyer Sim Bock Eng from Wong Partnership said: "This five-day cooling-off period excludes weekends and public holidays, allowing minority owners to review their decision and alleviate any pressure."

The event comes at a time when the en bloc frenzy shows little sign of easing despite government measures.

Referring to reports of souring relationships, Mr Chan Kok Hong, CKH Strata Management managing director, said: "Director Royston Tan can make a movie from this."

Ms Sim said the raft of requirements for setting up a sales committee protects minority owners. Before the changes, a one-man committee could be set up; now, at least three owners are needed. And members of the committee have to be elected at a general meeting and must declare any relationships with developers, marketing agent or legal firms that might incur a possible conflict of interest.

The new provisions also improve en bloc proceedings, which typically take 31 months to complete, noted Mr Chan.

Meanwhile, the Law Ministry has advised that ongoing en bloc sales without a majority of owners' consent — 80-per-cent (for developments 10 years old or older) or 90-per-cent (below 10 years old) — have to comply with the new provisions. Those with the majority consent are exempted.

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.

This story was printed from TODAYonline

SLA rides the bulls

Thursday • October 4, 2007

sheralyn@mediacorp.com.sg

Sheralyn Tay

IN A testament to the bullish property sector, it has been a year of records for the Singapore Land Authority (SLA).

Its latest annual report revealed that revenue collected from State land sales has reached a nine-year record high of $6.3 billion, up from $5.5 billion the previous year.

Private sales in major projects such as the Marina Integrated Resorts, Southern Sentosa Cove and the Civic, Cultural and Retail Complex at One North accounted for more than half SLA's total land proceeds, with takings totalling some $3.5 billion in the financial period ending in March. This is up from $3.3 billion previously.

The public sector too bought their fair share of state land. Sales to entities such as the Singapore Tourism Board, Sentosa Development Corporation and JTC contributed to $2.7 billion in takings, up from $2.2 billion the previous FY, marking another record high.

Analysts, such as director of Dennis Wee Properties, Mr Chris Koh, said these figures are not surprising. "The last financial year, the Government has been releasing more land for sale in light of the brighter economy, so it explains the takings," said Mr Koh.

And in a bid to alleviate the CBD crunch, the SLA released 13 landmark State properties for dedicated office space between April last year and this March for "adaptive reuse".

It's likely that more such plots will be opened up for office use in the coming months, said Mr Koh as the demand for office space is still very strong. "Lots of foreign companies are still coming in and the Government has to ensure that there is enough office space to curb soaring rentals as this will have the detrimental effect of driving business away from Singapore."

SLA last year also tendered and awarded — for $1.75 million — three plots totalling 7.8ha in Lim Chu Kang for agri-tainment purposes in a bid to create a recreational countryside featuring a mix of agriculture, recreation and entertainment elements like farm stays and fishing and rock-climbing.

Non-profit organisations were not forgotten. One beneficiary, the Animal Concerns Research and Education Society (Acres), got a three-month rent-free period on a 2-ha site in Sungei Tengah for its wildlife rescue centre.

According to the annual report, SLA's total income increased from $80.8 million to $88.6 million, and its agency fee incomes achieved new highs, increasing 8 per cent from $50.8 million to $54.8 million.

Major Land Sales FY 2006/2007

Marina IR (picture) ($1.2b)

One North Civic, Cultural and Retail Complex ($180m)

Private land sales proceeds

FY02 1.2b FY03 684m FY04 290m FY05 $3.3b FY06 $3.5b

Public land sales proceeds

FY02 784m FY03 $1b FY04 $1.7b FY05 $2.2b FY06 $2.7b

Copyright MediaCorp Press Ltd. All rights reserved.