The decline comes on the back of a double whammy of property cooling measures that took effect on July 6 and the Hungry Ghost Festival last month, when some would avoid entering into property deals.

The figures were released by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) yesterday based on its survey of licensed housing developers.

The above figures excluded executive condominium (EC) units, which are a public-private housing hybrid.

Including ECs, developers moved 639 units last month – down from the 1,776 units in the previous month and 1,587 units sold in August last year.

Developers also held back launches during the Hungry Ghost month and in the immediate aftermath of the cooling measures. Including ECs, 534 new units were launched last month, 76.2 per cent lower than July’s 2,239 units and 32.7 per cent below the 794 units in August last year.

Christine Sun, head of research and consultancy at OrangeTee & Tie, said the data showed that the latest property curbs “are starting to take a significant toll on private home demand”.

“While August is traditionally slower for sales and launches, last month’s figure is in stark contrast to the same period last year, where 794 new homes were launched and 1,246 units were sold,” she said.

Excluding ECs, 6,287 units were sold in the first eight months of this year, 25.1 per cent less than the 8,397 units sold for the same period a year ago.

“The sales decline is not beyond expectation as the market often responds correspondingly with each round of intervention,” said Sun.

She added that the tighter financing rules and increased Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty of up to 20 per cent for foreign buyers have also sent foreigners scurrying from the market”.

Based on URA data as of yesterday, foreigners’ share of the new non-landed housing pie sank to a low of 5.1 per cent last month, down from 7.4 per cent a year ago. The last low was in July 2015, when foreigners accounted for only 4.2 per cent of the market.

Knight Frank noted that the Hungry Ghost Festival last year was in September. For that month, the number of sales (excluding ECs) was 657 units, some 41 more units than the 616 units sold in August this year.

Last month’s top-selling project was The Tre Ver in Potong Pasir, with 164 units sold at a median price of $1,551 per sq ft (psf).

Other top sellers for last month included Stirling Residences, with 91 units transacted at a median price of $1,757 psf; Park Colonial in Woodleigh Lane, with 79 units sold at a median price of $1,713 psf; and Riverfront Residences in Hougang, with 76 units sold at a median price of $1,311 psf.

Tricia Song, Colliers International’s head of research for Singapore, expects prices to hold relatively flat for the rest of the year, barring an external shock.

She added that from the take-up, there appeared to be demand for properties that are “well-located and priced realistically”.

With August out of the way, analysts are keeping a close watch on this month’s sales.

A report by DBS Equity Research said that the bank’s analysts had visited two new property pre-views at the weekend, Mayfair Gardens in Bukit Timah and Jui Residences in Potong Pasir, and noted that there was a decent-size crowd. Both will be launched later this month.

In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas said personal remittances from overseas Filipinos reached $2.7 billion in July 2018, higher by 4.5 per cent compared to the level posted in the same month in 2017.

On a cumulative basis, personal remittances grew by 3 per cent year-on-year to $18.5 billion in January to July, BSP Governor Nestor Espenilla Jr said.

The rise in personal remittances in the first seven months of 2018 was supported by an increase of 2.8 per cent and 4 per cent in remittance inflows from land-based workers with work contracts of one year or more and sea-based workers and land-based workers with short-term contracts, respectively.

There are an estimated 10 million Filipinos working or residing overseas and the dollars they send to beneficiaries at home make up a key supporting leg of the local economy. An estimated 10 per cent of domestic economic activity is attributed directly or indirectly to these remittances, which totaled $31.2 billion in 2017, excluding funds sent home through informal channels.

According to the BSP, cash remittances from overseas Filipinos coursed through banks totaled $2.4 billion in July 2018, posting a 5.2-per cent increase from the level recorded in the same month last year.

Cash remittances sent by land-based workers grew by 4.5 per cent to $1.9 billion, while those from sea-based workers expanded by 7.8 per cent to $511 million.

By country source, the primary contributors to the growth in cash remittances for the month were the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany.

For the first seven months of 2018, cash remittances climbed to $16.6 billion, a 3-per cent increase from the level registered in the same period in 2017.

In particular, cash remittances from land-based and sea-based workers totaled $13.1 billion and $3.5 billion, respectively.

More than 79 per cent of the total cash remittances came from the United States, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Japan, the United Kingdom, Qatar, Canada, Germany and Hong Kong.

Personal remittances represent the sum of net compensation of employees (ie gross earnings of overseas Filipino workers with work contracts of less than one year, including all sea-based workers, less taxes, social contributions and transportation and travel expenditures in their host countries).

Personal transfers refer to all current transfers in cash or in kind by Filipinos with work contracts of one year or more as well as other household-to-household transfers between Filipinos who have migrated abroad and their families in the Philippines.

Capital transfers between households refer to the provision of resources for capital purposes (such as for construction of residential houses between resident and nonresident households without anything of economic value being supplied in return).

The Jakarta-based company plans to close the funding round in several weeks, the person said, asking not to be identified because the information is private. The start-up’s existing backers include Tencent Holdings, Temasek Holdings and Warburg Pincus, according to Bloomberg.

Go-Jek is building up its arsenal to expand in Southeast Asia and fight Singapore-based rival Grab, which bought Uber Technologies Inc’s business in the region and has said it’s on track to raise US$3 billion in fresh capital this year. The Indonesian company got its start with ride-hailing and has since added a range of on-demand services that lets users pay bills, order food and buy movie tickets.

“There is an element of a land grab, not just in geography but also in different verticals, whether it’s delivery or payments, as everyone’s trying to put his stick in the ground,” said Kuo-Yi Lim, managing partner at Monk’s Hill Ventures in Singapore, which is not an investor in either company. “There’s also a bit of an arms race going on” in capital raisings between the two rivals.

A Go-Jek representative declined to comment.

Go-Jek has turned to acquisitions in recent years to build a group of leaders overseeing different businesses.

“We are building a strong bench who really want to make a change in Indonesia and in South-east Asia as we expand,” Go-Jek president Andre Soelistyo told a panel at the Milken Institute Asia Summit recently.

Go-Jek was founded in Jakarta and has been expanding beyond the Indonesian market it dominates. It began motorcycle hailing and courier delivery services in Hanoi on September 12 after a soft launch in Ho Chi Minh City. Go-Viet, its brand in Vietnam, is the first of the company’s international operations. The app has been downloaded 1.5 million times in six weeks and 25,000 drivers have joined the platform, according to the company. Go-Viet plans to roll out additional services such as car-hailing, food delivery and e-money services in a country that is home to more than 90 million people.

“Consumers need more choice and the market needs more competition to allow the industry to grow sustainably,” Go-Jek chief executive officer Nadiem Makarim said in a statement on Sept 12. Go-Jek’s planned expansion in Thailand, Singapore and the Philippines is on track, the company said.

The Indonesian start-up’s last funding round brought in about US$1.5 billion of new capital and valued the company at roughly US$5 billion, Bloomberg News has reported.

Two-way trade between the Kingdom and its eastern neighbour reached $2.7 billion from January to July, a year-on-year increase of nearly 19 per cent, according to a report from Vietnam’s state-run media.

The spokesperson for the Vietnam embassy in Phnom Penh couldn’t be reached for comment.

However, speaking at a trade and investment forum in the capital last week, Vietnamese ambassador to Cambodia Vu Quang Minh said enterprises from both countries had plenty of potentials to work in the Kingdom.

“Enterprises of the two countries will have opportunities to learn, exchange and connect with partners, turning the potential and strengths of each into real projects in the coming years,” said Minh.

Despite providing a two-way trade figure, the report didn’t break down imports and exports by country. Trade data from Vietnam’s General Department of Customs last year revealed that the country’s key exports to Cambodia were steel, iron, oil, petroleum and consumer goods.

Meanwhile, Vietnam imported mainly wood products, cashew nuts, rubber and other agricultural products from Cambodia.

The two nations have been striving to hit $5 billion in yearly bilateral trade since 2015, but have so far come short. But Heng expressed hope that the figure could be met by the end of this year.

The lawsuit was submitted to the Central Jakarta District Court on September 13, said Garuda Indonesia lawyer Ery Hertiawan in Jakarta on Monday.

“The agreement titled: TotalCareTM Agreement for the Trent 700 Engine Powered Airbus A330-300 Aircraft (Contract Reference: DEG 5496) No: DS/PERJ/DE-3236/2008 is null and void because of the fraud,” Ery stated in the lawsuit document, as reported by kontan.co.id.

The first hearing of the case is scheduled to be held today.

Garuda’s vice president of corporate communication Hengki Heriandono was not available for comment, as he said he was still in a meeting. From Garuda Indonesia’s financial report, it was known that the agreement had been amended several times. Amendments for tariff adjustments were made in 2012 and 2016, while a contract extension was made in 2015 until September 2017.

On December 22, 2017, Garuda received an offer for a contract extension, but there has been no agreement up to date.

Emirsyah was named a graft suspect by the Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) for allegedly receiving bribes allegedly to help smooth the procurement process of Airbus engines produced by Rolls Royce from 2005 to 2014.

A universal QR code has been launched in Singapore to free merchants from the need to display multiple QR codes to accept different cashless payment schemes.

Dubbed SGQR, the national QR code allows consumers to scan and transfer funds from as many as 27 e-payment apps, including GrabPay, Dash and Nets.

Singapore’s interbank instant fund transfer system will also be opened up to non-banks such as Grab and Singtel, underpinning the transformation of the e-payment scene here.

Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) board member Ong Ye Kung made the announcements on Monday, saying that the last few jigsaw pieces are finally coming together to help Singapore build its national cashless system.

The technical specifications of SGQR were first unveiled in November last year. After the 27 payment firms worked the specifications into their payment systems, SGQR is now ready for commercial roll out.

Announcing the launch of SGQR on Monday, Mr Ong said: “QR code payments have been growing and many cash-intensive merchants, such as hawkers, are accepting them. But every scheme… all issue their own QR code. This causes confusion.”

Even with this interoperable QR code, the topping up of various e-wallets has been impeded by the current set-up, where e-payment firms have to negotiate deals with individual banks to allow users to top up their wallets from their bank accounts. – The Straits Times

Deals worth $80m signed at China-Asean expo

As the China-Asean Expo drew to a close last week in Nanning, China, many left with the feeling that the Kingdom will forge stronger cooperation with the Asian powerhouse.

In fact, several memoranda of understanding (MoU) were signed between Cambodia and major mainland Chinese investors.

On the sidelines of the four-day event, Prime Minister Hun Sen met with eight Chinese corporate leaders, including Lei Jun, the founding chairman and CEO of smartphone maker Xiaomi.

Twelve MoUs were signed between trade officials of the two nations aimed at boosting ties, according to a news release late Thursday from the Kingdom’s Ministry of Commerce.

While the release didn’t explain the details of each memorandum of understanding (MoU), it said the total value of all 12 amounted to $80 million and covered many sectors, including tourism, engineering, airport construction, and research and training facilities. – Phnom Penh Post

Widodo’s pet project evolves into rural vehicle

Sukiyat, the initiator of the locally designed Mobil Esemka, has transformed the pet project of Indonesian President Joko Widodo into a rural transportation vehicle called the Mahesa, which will be mass-produced next year.

Rural residents are the target market for the Mahesa, Sukiyat said over the weekend.

The producer, PT Kiat Mahesa Wintor Indonesia (KMWI), and the distributor, PT Kiat Mahesa Wintor Distributor (KMWD), will cooperate with publicly listed automotive company PT Astra International to produce 25,000 units per year for now.

Mahesa stands for Moda Angkutan Hemat Desa (affordable rural mode of transportation), as the vehicle is designed for villagers’ needs.

The Mahesa is a multifunctional vehicle powered by a 650-cc diesel engine and able to carry loads of up to 900 kilograms. The Mahesa can also double as a water pump and or rice mill.

“This vehicle will be easy to sell, because it meets villagers’ needs. At the end of this year, all the licences will be completed,” Sukiyat told The Jakarta Post in a telephone interview on Sunday. |– The Jakarta Post

Indonesia to lower overseas online shopping limit to $75

The Indonesian Finance Ministry’s Customs and Excise Office has issued a regulation to lower the import limit for online shopping to only US$75 from the initial $100.

“The new regulation will take effect on October 10,” said its director general, Heru Pambudi, in Jakarta on Monday as reported by kompas.com.

He said the policy was stated in Finance Minister Regulation No 112/PMK04/2018 on the amendment of Finance Minister Regulation No 182/PMK 04/2016 on imported goods through delivery. – The Jakarta Post