Holding on to equity stakes in SC Global and HPL. WP management intends to keep their investments in SC Global and HPL as passive equity investments and the possibility of a joint development remains low. However, management did mention are the open to an invitation from them. As their stake in SC Global and HPL has been written down to S$0.385 and S$0.93, it is likely to be written back going forward due to the strong share price performances.

Comfortable with holding back of launches. Management stated that it is comfortable with their current position, with S$888.0m cash on hand (net cash position of S$497.1m) as at 31 Mar 2009. As such, it has no qualms about holding back the launches of Orchard View, Ardmore 3, and the remaining 100 units of Scotts Square to such a time when the market is accepting of the price that Wheelock Properties (WP) is willing to sell at. They remain confident of a recovery in the luxury segment.

Foreign buying buoys housing market. Management highlighted that even though property prices seem high compared to some other cities in the region (e.g., Tokyo), the market is propped by foreign buying that is not seen in other cities. In case for Scotts Square (highest price paid S$5.9m or S$4,701psf in Sept 2007), the split between foreign and local buyers for Scotts Square is about 50/50, with nationalities of the overseas buyers being varied.

No DPS default risk. With regards to Scotts Square, management noted that collections have been good, with 96% of payments due collected fully. They also reiterated that all projects, save for a few Seaview units (all of which have been collected), were sold on the progressive payment scheme. Thus, the risk of deferred payment scheme defaults is virtually nonexistent for WP.

Wheelock Place to benefit from the opening of ION Orchard. Both the office and retail portions are 100% occupied in the Wheelock Place building. The current asking rentals are around S$8-10 for the office portion and about S$10-20 for the retail part. Management expects the Wheelock place building (valued at S$790m, with 60/40 split between office and retail) to see a meaningful increase in traffic upon the opening of both ION Orchard and the tunnel linking the two malls come July 2009. Total rental income this year is expected to be better than last year.