We believe that earnings are likely to recover from their low base in financial year 2016 (FY2016) as the retail segment recovers slowly alongside consumer sentiment and margins improve.

Pesona’s order book stands at RM2.1 billion, translating into a strong cover ratio of 5.4 times on FY2016 construction revenue.

We remain upbeat about WCT Holdings Bhd’s infra outlook, but this is offset by property sales risks.

Tucked away on a cliff on the northeastern coast of Koh Samui and surrounded by mature trees is the Samujana Villas estate. It contains 27 villas, each with spectacular unobstructed views of the ocean and the beach. Unlike most villa developments, Samujana evolved one villa at a time in the early years.

The weekend of April 1 and 2 marked 2017’s first new residential project launch from Vietnam — RichLane Residences, Mapletree Investments’ maiden condominium project in Ho Chi Minh City. For the largely Singaporean audience, the most riveting fact during the 25-minute presentation by Marc Townsend, managing director of CBRE ­Vietnam, was that the starting price of US$95,000 (S$132,825) (RM421,610) for a studio in the high-end condo is equivalent to the price of a new Honda Civic in Singapore.

Waiting list for potential tenants remains long.

A rare corner shophouse on Serangoon Road has been put on the market for sale. The owner, a semi-retired businessman who wants to be known as Chan, has been holding on to the shophouse for a decade. Chan purchased the property in early 2007, and spent S$200,000 refurbishing it. The ground floor is currently tenanted to a 24-hour coffee shop and there is a rental apartment in each of the three upper floors.

Last November, Savills Investment Management divested two assets in Singapore — its stake in China­town Point to partners Perennial Real Estate Holdings and Singapore Press Holdings for S$92.6 million, and 77 Robinson Road to CLSA Capital Partners for S$530.8 million. “I think the timing of the disposal of 77 ­Robinson Road was fortuitous,” says Justin O’Connor, the London-based CEO of Savills Investment Management, who was in Singapore recently.

Besides urban regeneration of mixed-use integrated developments, Australian property giant Lendlease has also ventured into senior living, or retirement villages. It is now the largest operator of retirement villages in Australia, with 71.

Australian property giant Lendlease’s maiden residential project in Singapore, the 429-unit Park Place Residences at Paya Lebar Quarter (PLQ), saw 215 units (50%) sold on the first day of sales on March 25. Units sold ranged from S$800,000 for a one-bedroom unit to S$2.1 million for a three-bedroom premium unit, or from S$1,600 to more than S$2,000 psf.