Daily Briefing: Redevelopment schemes could threaten Singapore's architectural history; CBD conservation shophouse up for sale at $17m

And here’s why Malaysia is amongst Singapore firms' choices for expansion.

From Reuters:

The redevelopment programmes announced in the National Day Rally (NDR) urged calls to conserve heritage properties as the Singapore Heritage Society (SHS) said that more measures should be imposed to maintain brutalist blocks built just after the city-state achieved independence in 1965.

“It is timely for current land-use policies and regulatory frameworks to be reevaluated to facilitate the conservation of modernist structures for adaptive reuse, and for private owners and developers to plan for a longer building lifespan,” the SHS commented.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said in a National Day Rally speech that Singapore had to think about future generations.

“We may keep a few blocks for historical or heritage value or sentimental reasons, or to remind people what the old days are like, but these should be the exception,” Lee said.

Read more here.

From iCompare Loan:

A 999-year conservation shophouse in the Central Business District with a land area of 1,759 sq ft is up for sale at $17m, JLL revealed.

Located at Boon Tat Street, the site is zoned “Commercial” and is located within the Telok Ayer Conservation Area.

The Property has rare permanent F&B approvals granted for both floors. The shophouse has excellent specifications including amongst other, generous ceiling height, a regular, efficient and column-free layout. Having full length windows spanning the front of the shophouse coupled with the presence of an airwell, the shophouse benefits from good natural lighting.

Read more here.

From Human Resources Online:

Singapore firms are keen on expanding their businesses into neighbouring country Malaysia due to the availability of a skilled workforce in the country, a study by the Singapore Business Federation and HSBC revealed.

A quarter of these companies (25%) cite the challenge in hiring Singaporeans for overseas placements as one of the major barriers to their expansion plans.
Out of the 1,036 companies surveyed, more than nine out of 10 (92%) cited the growth potential of ASEAN as the top motivating factor for expanding into the region, with Malaysia being the top source of sales, beyond Singapore.

Read more here.