Singapore’s gleaming office towers are defying a global slowdown in commercial real estate, in a sign of the Asian hub’s continuing appeal.Prime office rents in the city state increased 2.5 per cent in the first half of 2023. The overall occupancy level in the central business district in the second quarter reached 94.4 per cent, edging up from the previous quarter, according to a report from Knight Frank Singapore.
As vacant skyscrapers in metropolises from New York to Hong Kong struggle to lure new tenants, Singapore stands out. Read More...
When Singapore sex toy shop U4Ria opened 18 years ago, co-founder Lincoln Chua had just one competitor – House of Condom, a short walk away in Lucky Plaza.
Today, Chua manages three such shops and, on his own estimates, is competing with more than 20 others.
Perhaps that growth in competition shouldn’t be surprising. The Asia-Pacific region is the fastest-growing market for sex toys, accounting for 46 per cent of all sales globally, according to a 2017 report by market research company Technavio. Read More...
Its interim net profit stood at HK$9.145 billion (US$1.17 billion), or HK$3.16 per share, 9 per cent higher than a year earlier. The increase was driven by a rise in the fair value of its investment properties net of deferred taxation and non-controlling interests worth HK$432 million, compared to a decrease of HK$967 million in the same period last year, the developer said in a stock exchange filing.
Its underlying profit for the six-month period, excluding the fair value change in its investment properties, dropped 6 per cent to HK$8. Read More...