SINGAPORE Trends and Developments Contributed by: Monica Yip and Dorothy Marie Ng, WongPartnership LLP
• the SGD652.2 million acquisition of a 50% stake in the NEX suburban mall by Frasers Centrepoint Trust and Frasers Property Lim - ited; • the SGD538 million en-bloc acquisition of a commercial building known as Shenton House in the central business district, by Shenton 101 Pte Ltd; and • the SGD525 million sale of Parkroyal Kitch - ener Hotel by Pan Pacific Hotels Group (a member of UOL Group Limited). The prices and rent of industrial properties con - tinued to rise in 2023, even though there was a decline in demand in certain segments. There was reduced growth in hi-tech and convention - al industrial spaces, given a slowdown in tech demand and manufacturing exports. However, well-located industrial properties, particularly for logistics use and warehousing, showed sus - tained demand by third-party investors, given limits in new supply. This was highlighted in the SGD313.5 million acquisition of five logistics properties by Hillhouse Capital, representing Hillhouse Capital’s first major industrial purchase Singapore’s efforts towards the development of a Smart Nation (an initiative to use technologies, networks and big data to provide tech-enabled solutions) continued apace with the announce - ment by the Singapore Land Authority of its appointment of a vendor for the development of the Digital Conveyancing Portal (DCP). The DCP is scheduled to be launched over different phas - es starting from the second quarter of 2024, and is expected to be fully developed and completed by 2026. The purpose of the DCP is to facilitate and streamline the conveyancing process and to reduce paperwork and physical documents. New digital practices will be put in place for the in Singapore. Smart Nation
sale and purchase of property transactions to benefit stakeholders and users. Code of Conduct for Leasing of Retail Premises The Code of Conduct for Leasing of Retail Prem - ises (Code of Conduct) was first released in 2021 and sets out guidelines for what constitutes fair practice in relation to tenancy agreements of qualifying retail premises. It includes a checklist template to accompany retail tenancy agree - ments. The Code of Conduct has now been given force of law through the Lease Agreements for Retail Premises Act 2023 (LARPA), which was passed by Parliament on 3 August 2023 and came into effect on 1 February 2024. Under the LARPA, all landlords and tenants of retail premises must abide by leasing principles set out in the Code of Conduct. These include the prohibition on landlords from the pre-termination of tenan - cies unless on certain specific grounds, and from imposing a gross turnover rent component where specified rent has been exceeded. In addition to a requirement for all landlords and tenants of qualifying retail premises to comply with the Code of Conduct, the LARPA also sets out a framework for dispute resolution to enable parties to file complaints about non-compliance. The Code of Conduct applies only to qualifying retail leases with a tenure of at least one year but does not apply to residential, office and indus - trial premises. Green Plan 2023 saw further developments and initiatives to the 2030 Green Plan first released by the Sin - gapore government in February 2010, including the following.
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