Parliament Sitting on 15 Feb 07: Question No. 84 for Oral Answer: Seah Kian Peng: JTC's divestment plan

Question No. 84 of Notice Paper No. 21 of 2007 For Oral Answer

Name and Constituency of Member of Parliament
Mr Seah Kian Peng, Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC

Question:
To ask the Minister for Trade and Industry what is the impact of Jurong Town Corporation's decision to pest a substantial portion of its industrial property portfolio on the business operating environment and whether this will curtail the development and growth of local businesses, especially the SMEs.

Answer:
JTC plans to pest all its flatted, ramp-up and stack-up factories, three multi-tenanted business park buildings, and one warehouse.The estimated net floor area of the JTC properties to be pested is 1.7 million square metres. This is less than 20% of all market share of space in the high-rise and business park building segments that are currently provided by private sector developers.

The rentals for JTC's high-rise factories and business park buildings are already determined largely by the market. JTC will pest its properties in a manner that will promote competition in the property market. Instead of pesting its entire industrial portfolio to one owner, JTC plans to do so through a combination of real estate investment trust (REIT) as well as trade sale. This will introduce more players into the industrial property sector, which should make for an even more competitive environment. There is also potential for higher quality and new types of industrial space products to be supplied into the market. SME industrialists looking for high-rise or business park space can thus enjoy more choices and options.

I would like to reassure the Member that JTC's pestment will contribute to a more vibrant industrial space market that will benefit SMEs, rather than curtail their development and growth.