Rounding up top investing articles from around the web, including articles shared on Twitter.
Marina Bay Sands sees profit surge 51.5% to $811.4 million in Q1 on tourism boom (Straits Times)
Marina Bay Sands (MBS) reported a record performance in the first quarter of 2024, with profit surging 51.5 per cent year on year.
Its adjusted property earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation stood at US$597 million (S$811.4 million) for the three months to end-March, up from US$394 million a year ago.
This came as revenue rose 36.8 per cent to US$1.16 billion from US$848 million in the first quarter of 2023.
MBS helped drive up the earnings of its parent company, casino giant Las Vegas Sands (LVS), that were announced on April 17.
Condo rents inch up after 7-month decline; volumes recover: SRX, 99.co (Straits Times)
Property analysts from OrangeTee and ERA Realty attributed the rise in demand for condo rentals to the narrowing price gap between condos and HDBs.
This has made condos a more attractive option for some tenants, said Ms Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist at OrangeTee Group.
In contrast, Huttons chief executive Mark Yip believes the stronger leasing demand could be due to more landlords compromising on reasonable rents.
“Rather than leaving their condo units empty, landlords would prefer to rent out their units to at least cover their mortgage instalments and taxes,” Mr Yip said.
He added that it is less likely to be the case of tenants moving from the HDB market to the condo market as the rental gap is still substantial.
Echoing the sentiment, 99.co chief data and analytics officer Luqman Hakim said: “With strong demand for cheaper rentals as inflation hits, HDB rentals still remain more affordable compared to condos
