-          Record level occupancy for Ready-Built Facilities

-          Strong performance in Prepared Industrial Land’s allocation

Singapore, 29 Apr 2008:        JTC registered a six-fold increase in net allocation of its Ready-Built facilities (RBF) in 1Q 2008, from 6,700 sqm in 1Q 2007 to 38,400 sqm in 1Q 2008.  Net allocation of Prepared Industrial Land also registered a robust 114.9 ha in 1Q 2008 as a result of a strong gross allocation (120.4 ha) and low termination (5.5 ha).        

2          The six-fold year-on-year increase in the net take-up for the RBF segment boosted occupancy rate for this segment by 1.3%-point to 93.9%. Gross allocation for RBF of 89,500 sqm in 1Q 2008, represented a 72% increase over the 52,000 sqm achieved in 1Q2007. Termination for 1Q 2008 stood at 51,100 sqm which was 13% higher than 1Q 2007’s 45,300 sqm.   

3          The net allocation for Prepared Industrial Land, whilst lower than the stellar performance of the previous quarter, was still 9.2 ha higher than the 95.7 ha  achieved  in  1Q 2007. A larger proportion of the gross allocation in Prepared Industrial Land in 1Q 2008 was from the manufacturing related and supporting sectors from 12% to 70%.  The Service sector and Chemical sector contributed 59% and 22% respectively to the total gross allocation for Prepared Industrial Land.  

4          Key performance highlights of Ready-Built Facilities

a          Flatted Factory Space (FF Space)     Demand for FF space grew by 2%, quarter-on-quarter to 1.23 mil sqm in 1Q 2008, while supply was 1% lower, at 1.399 mil sqm.  Occupancy rate rose 2.9%-point quarter-on-quarter to 87.7%.  Growth in demand was driven by strong gross allocation (63,100 sqm) which offset the slightly higher termination level in the quarter.  Allocations were evenly spread among the manufacturing and services sectors. 39% of FF space termination came from the Service sectors, while 61% came from the manufacturing sectors. The top 3 contributing sectors were General Manufacturing industries (24%), Precision Engineering (20%) and Electronics (13%).

 b          Technopreneur Space (TP Space)     Occupancy of TP space for 1Q 2008 maintained at about 85.5%. Demand for TP space was 12,900 sqm while supply remained unchanged, at 15,100 sqm. 1Q 2008 saw a 100 sqm increase in net allocation of TP space. This was due to a drop in gross allocation over the previous quarter and a largely unchanged level of termination.   

c          Business Park Space (BP Space)      Gross allocation for 1Q2008 (5,800 sqm) was 19% lower than the same quarter last year. The 2,500 sqm termination was 2% lower than the same period last year. As a result, net allocation stood at 3,300 sqm. Occupancy rate for BP Space rose 1.3%-point, quarter-on-quarter to 94.7%.

d          Standard Factory (SF Space)            Demand for SF space pushed gross allocation to 10,500 sqm while termination remained flat at 2,300 sqm, which brought net allocation to 8,200 sqm.  Occupancy rate for SF space rose to 98.2% as a result of a 2.39 mil sqm (or 0.34%) increase in demand, on the back of limited supply.    

 e          Stack-up Factory (SS Space)          Occupancy for SS space stood at 87.6%. Demand and supply for SS space remained largely unchanged. The net allocation for 1Q 2008 was 800 sqm. This was due to 9,700 sqm gross allocation while termination stood at 8,900 sqm.     

5          Key performance highlights for Prepared Industrial Land

a          Generic Land             The robust net allocation of 81.8 ha achieved for 1Q 2008, was just 9 ha less than the full year’s performance for 2007. This was due to strong gross allocation (84.4 ha) and low termination (2.5 ha) registered in 1Q 2008.  

b          Specialised Parks       1Q 2008 saw a more moderate contribution by Specialised Parks to the total net allocation for Prepared Industrial Land.  Specialised Parks accounted for only 33.1 ha (or 28.8%) of net allocation for Prepared Industrial Land, compared to the outstanding performance in the previous quarter. 1Q2008 saw a 57% drop in net allocation for the Specialised Parks, compared to a year ago. Chemical sector contributed 30.6 ha, out of the 33.1 ha, net allocation of land.      

Full Industrial Facilities Performance Report

6          The full Industrial Facilities Report for 1Q 2008 can be downloaded from the JTC website at www.jtc.gov.sg. It is also available from JTC's Corporate Research and Knowledge Management Department through Mr Kelvin Yip (Tel: 6883-3017 / Fax: 6885-5882 / Email: chunfai @jtc.gov.sg).     

Annex A (Glossary)

Business Park

A business park is an area specifically set aside for non-pollutive industries and businesses that engage in high-technology, research and development, high value-added and knowledge intensive activities.

Business Park Space

JTC's ready-built facilities at the International Business Park, Jurong Town Hall, Phase Z.Ro, Changi Business Park and Biopolis. They cater mainly to the needs of new industries that are engaged in high value-added and knowledge-based activities.

Demand

Refers to cumulative net take-up of land or space

Flatted Factory

A type of ready-built factory that is generally medium to high-rise and housed multiple tenants/lessees sharing common facilities like car parks, loading/unloading areas and cargo lifts.

Gross Allocation

Land or space that is leased or rented to companies during a reference period.

Net Allocation

Gross allocation less termination of land or space.  

Occupancy Rate (Of Space)

Total space occupied as a proportion of total stock of space as end of a reference period.

Prepared Industrial Land

A type of JTC product referring to land that is made ready for lessees to develop their own industrial facilities. The land is normally provided with road access/frontage, main storm drain, water and sewer mains at its perimeter.

Ready-Built Facilities

Types of JTC products referring to factories that are built in anticipation of demand to allow lessees/tenants quick start-up and operation. The current JTC portfolio includes Standard, Flatted, Ramp-Up, Stack-Up Factories, Warehouses, Business Park Space and Technopreneur Space.

 Stack-up Factory

A type of ready-built factory that consists of 2-storey factory units stacked on top of each other. It offers the same ground floor conveniences of a low-rise landed factory.

Standard Factory

A type of ready-built factory that is typically low-rise and meant for a single tenant. The building can be designed as a detached, semi-detached or terrace unit. 

Supply

Refers to the stock of land or space available.

Technopreneur Space

A facility specifically designed for technology-based activities. JTC currently has two such facilities: Technopreneur Centre located at 20 Ayer Rajah Crescent (storey 7,8 and 9) and 1003 Bukit Merah Central (storey 4,5 and 6).

Termination

Land or space returned to JTC during a reference period.

About JTC Corporation

 JTC Corporation (JTC) is the lead agency in Singapore to plan, promote and develop a dynamic industrial landscape, in support of the nation's economic advancement.  Currently, the Corporation has under its management many developments including four wafer fab parks, an advanced display park, two business parks, a chemicals hub at Jurong Island, biomedical parks in Tuas as well as logistics hubs for aerospace, chemical and general warehousing industries.   

JTC also plays a catalytic role in introducing leading-edge real estate solutions -- such as specialised research facilities and underground caverns -- to anchor important activities critical to the growth of the economy.  It is the master developer for one-north at Buona Vista -- a 200-hectare development for research and entrepreneurial activities.  With a focus on knowledge-intensive activities in the biomedical, infocomms and media industries, one-north is a niche environment for innovation and creativity.   

In line with its vision of making Singapore the choice investment location, JTC is committed to providing a pro-business environment for its customers and optimising land resources to meet the needs of industries and enterprises.  JTC's home page address is http://www.jtc.gov.sg