It cited the oversupply in the office and logistics sectors here amid weak consumer sentiment and a housing market dealing with cooling measures.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore noted last November that property transactions, prices and mortgages could have been higher by as much as a third had these measures not been implemented.

Graham Mackie, managing director and head of global real estate for Asia Pacific at UBS Asset Management, said yesterday that there is certainly no rush to exit Singapore and some global investors still perceive the country as a relatively safe market.

Real Capital Analytics data noted that while capital of about US$28.7 billion from Singapore was invested in overseas real estate last year, up 49 per cent from 2014, total inbound capital rose 157 per cent to $3.4 billion.

Globally, investors are increasing their exposure to real estate, Mackie noted. Property traditionally formed about 5 per cent of investors’ portfolios but this seems to be going up to 10 to 15 per cent.

The report said there appears to be greater capital value in Australia and Japan now, relative to Singapore, Hong Kong and China.

Property yields in Australia are significantly higher than risk-free rates in the market.

Mackie said: “It is a relatively efficient market with strong rule of law… The Australian dollar has depreciated significantly against the US dollar and investors who are more swayed by currency considerations see Australia as relatively cheaper.”

In Japan, while negative interest rates will be a short-term “sugar rush”, propelling asset price inflation, offices in Tokyo are still attractive and will outperform on the back of strong rental growth, said Toh Shaowei, director of research and strategy (Asia Pacific) for global real estate at UBS Asset Management.

Inbound tourism in Japan continues to be strong, thanks to the cheap yen, which should prop up retail real estate, he added.

“Especially in Tokyo, the residential market still has some runway. The Tokyo resident population has been growing, but 45 per cent of households there do not own their own dwelling – (presenting) a huge room for rental opportunities and residential sales to grow.”

Economic conditions in the region will remain challenging over the near term, the report said.

Easier credit conditions could lead to a rise in asset prices that may not be backed by fundamentals, while Asian currencies could fall further in the next six months to a year.

But Asia’s growth continues to be higher than the rest of the world, and its dynamics – the rising middle class and increasing proportion of working age adults in some of its cities – will still be very supportive of real estate, said Toh.

There will be no further revisions made to the final offer price, Vision Three Pte Ltd, a private investment vehicle of Sim, announced on Tuesday (April 5).

The final offer price represents a premium of about 38.8 per cent and 40.6 per cent to the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) a share for the corresponding one-month and three-month periods up to and including Feb 29, 2016, respectively.

It also implies a price-to-earnings ratio for the company of 20.5 times, based on the earnings per share of S$0.0679 for the financial year ending Dec 31, 2015.

Osim shareholders who have earlier accepted the offer will be entitled to receive the final offer price and need not take any further action.

Shareholders who accept the offer going forward will receive an amount that will be adjusted to reflect whether they have received the FY2015 final dividend of S$0.02 a share, with effect from April 6, 2016, which is the books closure date.

Shareholders who do not receive the FY2015 final dividend will receive S$1.39 a share, while those who receive the FY2015 final dividend will receive S$1.37 a share, which is the final offer price less the FY2015 final dividend.

The offer will now close on April 25, 2016, unless otherwise extended.

Sim currently controls 69.36 per cent of Osim as of April 4, 2016.

Forever Group is Myanmar’s leading media company and DTH operator.

“The capacity expansion is set to boost Forever Group’s ability to advance our digital content delivery platform. Thaicom’s satellite platform serves as an important pillar in the expansion of our digital content delivery network which distributes entertainment, culture, and news to viewers in Myanmar,” said Forever Group’s CEO Win Maw.

Thaicom announced yesterday that a long-term contract for five additional transponders from the existing three was signed. Myanmar has been one Thaicom’s key markets for over 15 years.

To Paiboon Panuwattanawong, CEO of Thaicom, the capacity expansion agreement is in line with the company’s business plan of providing the satellite capacity needed to fuel the fast growth the Asian broadcast and media industries have been experiencing.

“The deal with Forever Group also supports the Thai government’s initiative to increase trade within the Asean region,” he said.

Construction businesses are expected to continue growing over the next five years as the country is developing.

There are opportunities to attract foreign companies to expand their businesses in Laos, according to Director of SC Design and Construction, Vidaly Chanthaphasouk.

The Ministry of Planning and Invest ment reported that over the la st 11 months of the 2014-15 fiscal year, some 1,589 projects were carried out in Laos with a total value of US$2.9 billion.

This will help to drive construction investment enlargement as the inflow of foreign companies to Laos continues.

Vidaly said at present, there are several meetings underway among construction companies in Aseanmember countries to exchange information, which will add potential to expand investment growth among its members.

Recently, construction companies from Malaysia, Cambodia, and Singapore expressed interest in partnering with Lao companies.

Lao companies have also provided their partners with consultation exchanges after they sought information about investing in Laos.

However, while there are several foreign construction companies interested in investing in Laos local companies are still not able to invest overseas due to a lack of basic knowledge on investment.

Vidaly believed AEC would open chances for Asean companies to seek investment exchanges. However, Lao construction companies still need more time to improve their quality before they think about expanding overseas.

Asean common regulations will make it easier to pursue cooperation and investment when the time is right, he added.

Presently, Vidaly observed, a number of Lao companies have been travelling abroad to learn more about other companies’ operations and examine potential opportunities.

The chain’s 23rd store and its seventh in Northern California opened at 3537 Callan Boulevard, South San Francisco. On the same location will open the most number of iconic Philippine brands such as Mercury Pharmacy, Jollibee, Red Ribbon, Chowking and TFC among others.

“Community Night” on Tuesday, March 29 gathered movers and shakers in the San Francisco Bay Area. There were Seafood City Chairman Steve Go and CEO Carlos Go, South San Francisco Mayor Mark Addiego, Daly City Deputy Mayor David Canepa, City Councilor Mike Guingona, Consuls Reginald Bernabe and Carlyn Monastrial representing Consul General Henry S. Bensurto Jr. of the Philippine Consulate General of San Francisco, ABS-CBN Global COO Raffy Lopez, many community leaders and members of the media.

Consul General Bernsurto’s message which was read by Consul Bernabe said the opening of the new Seafood City store showcases empowerment through Filipino American entrepreneurship. “We are not just gainfully employed, Seafood City proves that Filipino-Americans also provide gainful employment to other members of the Community,” Bensurto’s message said.

ABS-CBN Global COO Raffy Lopez, a major supporter of Seafood City, said, “It makes good sense to partner with another Filipino establishment like Seafood City with its proven history of providing a dynamic hub where Filipinos can shop, dine, get together and feel at home.”

Seafood City Chairman Steve Go presented a donations to the St. Augustine Church Children’s Choir, which sang the national anthem, and to Gawad Kalinga represented by newly elected Gawad Kalinga USA President Maricel Villanueva. GK will launch the “Kusina ng Kalinga” donation project at all Seafood City Stores.

Performers at the opening were violinist Corey Crywolffs, Kristine Kristine Sinajon, Sina and Mark Davis, Jackie Chavez and Ron Quesada, Kulintronica, an all-Filipino talent show provided by Luna and Company.

True to Filipino tradition, the community was served a bounty of Filipino favorites like pork barbecue, ukoy, grilled shrimp, Magnolia and Heavenly icec ream, sago at gulaman, makapuno icee and more.

This project involved implementing the Flexcube suite of core banking and direct banking products and data migration by replacing the legacy core banking system, said Pramod Devaiah, Oracle project manager for the Flexcube implementation project.

The project kicked off on February 16. It was executed along the Oracle Unified Methodology. Industry best practices of project management, project execution and data migration were employed during the course of the implementation.

JDB went live on Oracle Flexcube on February 22 and has completed six weeks of operations across all branches, service units and active channels, Pramod said.

He added that this would not have been possible without the effective team work and coordination among the Oracle and JDB project teams.

JDB is the sixth customer in Laos of Flexcube which has more than 500 customers in 120 countries. In the region, Flexcube has been employed by five banks in Myamar, 10 banks in Cambodia and 17 banks in Vietnam.

Ekkaphan Phaphithak, chairman of the JDB management board, said that he acknowledged the success and advised the project management team to continue developing its financial services to offer more facilities to customers.

JDB has been operating for more than two decades. It said that modern technology would build benefits for both the customers and the bank, allowing them to grow together and align with the millennium development goals of Laos.

Organised by Vietnam Economic Times and the Trade Promotion Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Vietnam Strong Brand Award aims at recognising enterprises which achieve excellent results in manufacturing, providing services, applications of technological solutions, and environmental protection, as well as contributing to community development.

Previously, Vietjet won awards from domestic and international organisations, including Top Vietnam Best Places to work, PATA Gold Awards, Best Asia Low Cost Carrier by TTG Travel Award, and Top 20 Brands of sustainable development.

In term of routes, together with airlines such as SpiceJet (India), EasyJet (England), Southwest (America) and AirAsia X (Malaysia), Vietjet’s routes were ranked one of the top five best newly operated routes in the world.

Vietjet also was recognised by Asia Guinness as the airline offering the most creative entertainment on board. Further, Business Initiative Directions presented Vietjet with an International Gold Star for Quality. Thanks to its achievements, Vietjet was presented a Certifications of Merit by the Ministry of Transports and Minister of Culture, Sport and Tourism.

Grab last January successfully sought the Government’s approval to trial GrabCar as well as the creation of a legal framework for the new service.

It began trialling it in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang, Khanh Hoa, and Quang Ninh.

Nguyen Xuan Thuy, deputy director of the transport ministry’s Department of Transport, said so far only GrabTaxi and transport companies and co-operatives using vehicles under nine seats are selected to participate in the programme.

Le Hoang Minh, deputy director of the HCM City Department of transport, said the department would work to ensure proper implementation.

Nguyen Tuan Anh, general manager of Grab Vietnam, said with more than 30 million mobile phones users with 3G services, Vietnam is a promising market.

This comes after TRB announced that its wholly-owned unit Texchem Restaurant Systems Sdn Bhd had inked a joint venture (JV) agreement with Japanese firm Kokubu Group Corp to form a JV firm, Kokubu Food Logistics Malaysia Sdn Bhd, to venture into food logistics, inventory management, handling of sales orders and warehouse operations.

In a filing with the stock exchange, TRB said Texchem Food has inked a JV agreement with E-Sprint Co Ltd and Mascot Industries Co Ltd to set up an investment plan through Texchem Marine Labutta Ltd (TMLL) for the venture.

TMLL is a private company in Myanmar involved in processing and marketing of marine products such as soft shell crab, prawns and hamaguri, while E-Sprint, an investment holding firm was established in Brunei.

Engaged in the production and export of frozen and dried seafood including prawns, soft shell crabs, spanner crabs, fishes and squids, Mascot was set up in Myanmar.

TRB said that upon signing of the JV, the issued and paid-up capital of TMLL would be increased to 2 billion kyats (RM6.46mil), comprising 20,000 ordinary shares at 100,000 kyats each.

This is to be paid by the parties on a progressive basis or may be determined by the TMLL directors, it said.

Texchem Food will hold 65percent stake in TMLL, while E-Sprint with 30% interest, followed by Mascot 5%.

While the JV is not expected to have any material impact on TRB’s consolidated net assets per share and gearing, the investment in TMLL would be fulfilled via cash and financed by Texchem Food’s internally generated funds.