Top News this Week (20 Oct)

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Rounding up top investing articles from around the web, including articles shared on Twitter.


Prime and Plus HDB flats in Oct BTO launch to come with 6 to 9 per cent subsidy clawback clause (Straits Times)

The new Plus and Prime flats launched on Oct 16 will come with a subsidy clawback clause of between 6 and 9 per cent, said the Housing Board, as it rolled out 8,573 Build-To-Order (BTO) homes under a new flat classification system.

The latest launch will sort BTO projects into Standard, Plus and Prime categories based on their proximity to the city centre, transport connectivity and amenities. It replaces the system of demarcating estates as either mature or non-mature.

Plus and Prime flats, which are in more attractive locations, come with significant market discounts to keep them affordable, said HDB. It has said the subsidy recovery clause is needed to curb the “lottery effect” of owning flats in prime and central locations.

“To maintain parity with other BTO flat buyers who are not accorded additional subsidies, Plus and Prime flat owners will be required to pay HDB a percentage of the resale or valuation price (whichever is higher) of the flat upon selling it, after meeting the 10-year minimum occupation period (MOP),” said HDB on Oct 16.


‘White flats’, more housing options for singles: What’s new in the Oct 16 BTO launch (Straits Times)

1. New classification model for BTO flats

Flats in the Oct 16 BTO launch are the first to be classified under the new Prime, Plus and Standard model.

2. More housing options for singles

Singles aged 35 and older buying a flat for the first time can now apply for two-room flexi flats in all locations. There are nearly 2,000 such flats across 10 projects in the Oct 16 launch.

Previously, singles could buy new two-room flexi flats only in non-mature estates.

3. New open-concept “white flats”

Some home buyers will be able to choose a new type of flat without partition walls and beams, which creates an open-concept living and bedroom space.

4. Additional subsidies for flats

Plus and Prime flats in this launch come priced with additional subsidies – on top of the market discounts applied to all BTO flats – to keep them affordable for Singaporeans across a range of income levels, said HDB.

The prices of flats in this launch are considerably lower than the transacted prices of comparable resale flats, it added.

5. Bigger grants for first-timer families and singles

Eligible home buyers applying for their first new flat can tap the Enhanced CPF Housing Grant (EHG), which was raised to up to $120,000 for families and $60,000 for singles in August.

Previously, the maximum EHG amount was $80,000 for families and $40,000 for singles.


The gist: Urgent Bill passed to amend Insurance Act; Team Singapore honoured (Straits Times)

After nearly four hours of debate, Parliament passed a Bill to amend the Insurance Act on Oct 16 to block German insurer Allianz’s offer to take a controlling stake in Singapore’s Income Insurance.

There is currently no provision in the Insurance Act for the financial regulator to consider the views of MCCY in such cases. The amendment is critical, given that Income is now a corporate entity, and is no longer subject to regulations that govern cooperatives.

Before the amendment, the approval of the planned transaction rested with MAS, which assesses an application on prudential grounds, such as taking into account the financial strength and track record of the applicant.

However, Income has a social mission for which the views of the minister overseeing co-ops need to be considered.

The proposed deal has sparked public concerns that Income will abandon workers and Singaporeans’ interests if it became part of a profit-driven international player.


NTUC central committee not aware of capital reduction plan in Allianz-Income deal: Desmond Tan (Straits Times)

The labour movement’s central committee did not know of the plan to return $1.85 billion to shareholders under the Allianz-Income deal before it was mentioned in Parliament on Oct 14, said NTUC deputy secretary-general Desmond Tan.

Speaking in Parliament on Oct 16, Mr Tan said the central committee had been briefed by Income Insurance and its parent company, NTUC Enterprise, on the strategic imperatives of the deal, but the capital reduction plan was not highlighted to it.

The capital reduction plan is a key factor in the surprising turn of events that saw the Government block the hotly debated $2.2 billion deal between Income and German insurer Allianz that was first made public in July. Allianz had made an offer to buy a controlling stake of at least 51 per cent in Income.

On Oct 14 in Parliament, Minister for Culture, Community and Youth Edwin Tong said in a ministerial statement that the Government had decided it would not be in the public interest for the transaction to proceed in its current form.


Disney Adventure cruise will set sail from Dec 15, 2025; ticket sales start in Dec 2024 (Straits Times)

Disney Cruise Line (DCL) has released voyage details of its first Asia-based cruise – the Disney Adventure – which will sail from Singapore for five years from 2025.

The first sailing will depart on December 15, 2025 from Marina Bay Cruise Centre.

The ship, billed as a destination in itself, will sail on three- and four-night itineraries without making any stops. It includes seven different themed areas featuring popular characters from movies like Big Hero 6, Toy Story and The Jungle Book.


Over two-fifths of bankruptcy orders in the first half of 2024 due to business failures: MAS (Straits Times)

Slightly over two-fifths of the bankruptcy orders in the first half of 2024 were due to business failures, with debtors borrowing from various sources including banks, credit card issuers, licensed moneylenders and private individuals.

The delinquency rate for corporate non-performing loans (NPLs) stood at about 2 per cent in the second quarter of 2024. NPLs account for less than 1 per cent of all loans extended to individuals by financial institutions.

Stress tests by the MAS have revealed that most households in Singapore should be able to service their mortgage debt even under conservative scenarios of significant income losses or elevated interest rates of 5.5 per cent.

However, Mr Tan noted that a segment of highly leveraged borrowers with below-median household incomes could be more vulnerable to repayment risk.

But these borrowers account for less than 5 per cent of total mortgage loans by count and comprise mostly private housing loans, he said.


ASML just gave us a first glimpse into how U.S. chip export curbs will dent its China sales (CNBC)

  • Netherlands-based chip equipment maker ASML said Tuesday that it expects net sales for 2025 to come in at the lower half of a range it had provided previously.
  • Roger Dassen, ASML’s chief financial officer, said he expects the company’s China business to show a “more normalized percentage in our order book and also in our business.”
  • The Dutch tech giant is feeling the brunt of U.S. restrictions on sales of advanced chipmaking tools to China.
  • ASML’s China-based customers had stockpiled less advanced ASML machines to get ahead of the U.S. exports — now, demand in the country is expected to dry up significantly.

Generative AI startups get 40% of all VC investment in cloud amid ChatGPT buzz (CNBC)

  • Venture funding for cloud startups in the U.S., Europe and Israel this year is projected to rise 27% year-over-year, increasing for the first time in three years, according to a report from VC firm Accel.
  • Out of the $79.2 billion total raised by cloud firms, 40% of all funding went to generative AI startups, Accel said.
  • “AI is sucking the air out of the room” when it comes to cloud, Philippe Botteri, partner at Accel, told CNBC an interview this week.

Apple announces new iPad mini, available to order now and in stores on Oct. 23 (CNBC)

  • Apple announced a new iPad mini on Tuesday, offering the first update to its smallest tablet since 2021.
  • The new iPad mini comes with a faster A17 Pro processor, the same chip that was in last year’s iPhone 15 Pro.
  • It starts at $499, can be preordered now and launches in stores on Oct. 23.

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