Singapore's CapitaLand wants to expand its already booming real estate business in Vietnam to include leisure resorts and office buildings, the property developer said.

Southeast Asia's biggest developer is also keen to more than double the number of residential units it is building from 2,800 homes to 6,000 in the next three years, it said in a statement late Tuesday.

"The Vietnam market presents opportunities for CapitaLand to expand beyond its present serviced apartments and residential businesses to include offices, retail complexes, and integrated leisure, entertainment and convention centers," the developer said.

"Overall, as a long-term player, CapitaLand sees tremendous growth potential in Vietnam as it is one of the fastest growing economies in Asia," it said.

The company is currently looking for suitable sites for leisure, entertainment and convention facilities, the statement said.

CapitaLand began its foray into Vietnam last year and is involved in four residential developments in HCMC.

Source: Thanh Nien News

SINGAPORE - Real estate developer City Developments Ltd said on Wednesday that its net profit in the third quarter rose 32.1 percent from a year earlier on continued health in the city-state's property sector.

Net profit was S$169.49 million compared with S$128.31 million in the third quarter to September 30 last year, the company said.

Revenue rose 19.7 percent to S$796.15 million, it said.

"With continued growth of the economy, job creation, attraction of foreign talent, and new businesses, Singapore is transforming into a vibrant and dynamic place in Asia-Pacific. As a growth hub, it augurs well for the property market," the company said.

Singapore is experiencing a property and construction boom after years in the doldrums.

City Developments says it plans to launch "a few projects" in coming months and expects to deliver a "stellar" full-year performance. - AFP/ir

Source: ChannelNewsAsia...

The region has made an important contribution to Singapore's record-breaking tourism performance so far in 2007, with 4.9 million visitor arrivals recorded from January to June. Total visitor arrivals from the Middle East have grown 23 percent year-on-year, with key markets like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait all showing high double-digit growth.

Plans are in place to continue this strong performance throughout 2007 and into 2008, with a particular focus on attracting visitors to cultural and religious festivals like Hari Raya Puasa or Hari Raya Aidilfitri, which celebrates the end of Ramadan.

Other upcoming highlights include the inaugural flight of the double-decker A380, the world's largest passenger plane, on October 25 this year. Singapore is hoping to attract Middle East-based aviation enthusiasts to be among the 'first to fly' the pioneering aircraft.

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http://www.ameinfo.com/130195.html

(MENAFN Press) The strong capital growth trend in the Singapore luxury residential property market will be powerful motivation for a new generation of non-institutional Middle Eastern investors to increase their stake in Singapore, said the developers of the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC).

According to the Singapore Government's Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), non-landed property values in the core central area of the City State appreciated by 23.3% in the first nine months of 2007, following a 17% gain in 2006.

Mr Kan Kum Wah, Head of Residential Marketing for the Marina Bay Financial Centre, attending the Cityscape Dubai property conference said that while the Middle East presence in the Singapore property market had so far been led by institutions, the conditions are now right for the emergence of a new wave of individual buyers.

"As more individual investors from the Middle East learn about the potential of the Singapore market, through their work in the thriving banking and financial sector, or as part of the boom in Middle East visitors to Singapore, this creates the potential for a new category of individual Middle Eastern buyers." Mr Kan said.

Chia Boon Kuah, chief operating officer (property sales) of Far East Organization, Singapore’s largest real estate developer, was in India recently to encourage Indians to invest in Singapore’s real estate. The firm is also looking for more investment opportunities in India. The company, along with its partner Wellside International Pte Ltd of Singapore, has already acquired Lady Ranu Mukherjee House in Kolkata. The COO spoke toMint’s Shilpa Shree about how Singapore can be an interesting option for Indians as the city-state’s GDP is expected to grow in the range of 6-8% over the next few years. The real estate prices in the city-state have grown over 30% in the first half of 2007. The country will see an additional supply of 18,000 homes in the near future. Around 6,000 of these homes are targeted towards foreigners.

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