Singapore shares are expected to come under pressure after the government unveiled tough measures to curb speculation in the city-state’s booming property market. Financial Times
The move comes after officials warned that increases of 50% in office rents and 23% in home prices this year threatened Singapore’s competitiveness in attracting foreign businesses. But the new measures could hurt earnings for builders.
The government said it would immediately scrap a policy that allowed buyers of uncompleted offices and homes to defer mortgage payments until the projects were completed once they made a 10% down payment.
Analysts said the deferred payment scheme had encouraged speculation, with buyers hoping to “turn their investments before the mortgage payments fell due, in some cases two to three years after the initial purchase.
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