Construction in for long winter as cooling measures dash hopes

Singapore

JUST when a silver lining appears to be on the horizon for Singapore's construction industry, the latest round of property cooling measures has put paid to the sector's recovery.

Earlier in the year, builders - many of them small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) - had forecast that after enduring years of decline, the worst will be over by the end of 2018.

Kenneth Loo, president of the Singapore Contractors Association Ltd (SCAL), told The Business Times: "Before the measures, we could see some light at the end of the tunnel - the sector was just about to turn around. Now, we don't know what is going to happen."

According to data compiled by Edmund Tie & Company, the number of en bloc sales since 2017 stands at 64 so far. Its head of research and consultancy Ong Ch…