Shoe-box factories and unlawful use of factory spaces工業廠房不該被濫用

	Business Times: Sat, Mar 17
THE shoe-box factory has caught the national development minister's attention, and it's not all good. Writing in his blog, Khaw Boon Wan said that shoe-box apartments serve a purpose as many singles do find them adequate for their housing needs. 'But shoe-box factories? As small as 50-80 sqm (smaller than a typical 7-Eleven shop)? Can a factory truly operate in such a small space?' He noted that many tenants of shoe-box units in industrial parks are legitimate non-industrial tenants providing relevant support services to the industrial tenants for which the park is built. 'For example, some are staff canteens and in-house clinics serving the factory workers. 'However, there are some who appear to be unauthorised non-industrial tenants. They appear to be abusing the lower rentals at industrial land/parks for normal commercial/office activities which should rightly be in commercial land/sites. This is wrong.' He said that offices and shops are not considered industrial use and are not allowed within industrial developments. But he added that non-industrial activities such as child-care centres, staff canteens and showrooms are allowed within industrial developments, provided they support the main industrial activities and, together with lift lobbies and other circulation areas, do not occupy more than 40 per cent of the industrial development. Mr Khaw concluded his blog post by putting the onus on developers and property agents, saying that they must make it clear to prospective buyers that industrial units can only be used for industrial activities. 'They must not mislead buyers into misusing industrial land/ parks for non-industrial activities,' he wrote. When contacted, Dennis Yeo, Colliers International managing director, told BT that occupation by unauthorised non-industrial tenants stems from, among other things, a lack of affordable commercial space. 'It's really a mixed bag of issues. Unauthorised use of industrial land is not driven by the size of the unit. Unauthorised use in industrial land occurs because it is the cheaper option, and also because of the scarcity of cheap commercial and office space.' He believes that the government must exercise caution in the event that it implements measures to curb the misuse of industrial land, stressing that the issue of commercial land shortage cannot be resolved overnight. 'There is a pressing need for more commercial space to be built and to cater to the small businesses as they cannot afford the rent at prime locations . . . but all this takes time.' Nicholas Mak, head of research at SLP International, agreed, adding that the government must bear in mind the potential implications that policy changes might have on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 'In order for Singapore to be competitive and provide employment, you need SMEs, and they are vulnerable to economic changes and rising costs. If the government were to suddenly chase everyone out, where would they go? Some would close down . . . while other may go to Iskandar Malaysia and create jobs there.' Another difficulty is how the government should go about facilitating the process of weeding out these unauthorised non-industrial tenants. Mr Yeo said: 'The government cannot discriminate between the industries and industrial buildings as there would be repercussions. It cannot be enforced now and the enforcement cannot be phased. If not, everybody would be pleading to be put at the last phase.' To solve the underlying problem of unauthorised non-industrial tenants thus requires addressing the fundamental shortage of commercial space, he said. According to Mr Mak, the government can take a cue from the latest Industrial Government Land Sales Programme, where smaller parcels of industrial land were made available. 'One way is to sell smaller parcels of office space, perhaps in the city fringe area. Some suggestions include Toa Payoh or Braddell.' To ensure consistency between commercial tenants and unauthorised non-industrial tenants who are taking advantage of the lower rental costs, the government could consider imposing a levy, tax or developmental charge, said Mr Mak. Refining and expanding the present definition of what constitutes industrial activities could be another alternative, said Mr Yeo. 'You can widen the definition and redefine what is allowed under industrial use to include product life cycle. If you are involved at any point of the product life cycle, you can qualify under this definition.'   Source: Business Times
» Khaw hits out at rogue use of factory space	Straits Times: Sat, Mar 17
NATIONAL Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan put rogue industrial tenants and landlords on notice yesterday in his latest blog entry. He said tenants are running some office and non-industrial activities in industrial buildings, looking for cheap rents by using industrial space instead of areas where they are supposed to operate. The Straits Times has reported that shops, tuition centres and even churches were using these industrial areas because of lower rents. For instance, Jalan Pemimpin's Clarus Centre houses five religious groups, including Hope Sanctuary, and tuition centre Twig. It is a similar scenario at Henderson Industrial Park, with non-industrial businesses like outfitter Costume City, travel agency Star Holiday Mart and Acts Baptist Church housed across both wings of Block 203. The penalty for the unauthorised use of properties is a fine of up to $200,000 and/or jail for up to a year. Shops and offices should be located in commercial sites, such as in shopping malls, as this unauthorised use of industrial space could be leading to higher business costs. Mr Khaw's post comes as many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and MPs are raising the issue of high industrial rents eating away at the bottom line of local firms and affecting their competitiveness. Mr Lee Sze Teck, senior manager of research and consultancy at Dennis Wee Group, estimates that non-authorised tenants could contribute to higher rents in some areas and eventually price out genuine industrialists. Mr Khaw said: 'The Urban Redevelopment Authority zones land to support industrial activities. The zoning helps to keep the industrial land cheaper than say commercial and office land, and thereby keeps our industries competitive.' Industrial rent may be more than 30 per cent cheaper, SLP International research head Nicholas Mak said. For instance, while industrial rents can range from $1.50 to $3 per sq ft (psf), suburban office rents can range from $4 to $6 psf. The proper use of industrial space includes manufacturing, warehousing and production. Certain types of e-businesses such as IT infrastructure and software development are also allowed. There are exceptions. For instance, childcare centres and furniture showrooms are allowed within industrial developments as they support the main industrial activities if, say, parents need to leave their children at the centres. Broadly speaking, they may occupy about 40 per cent of the industrial development. Industry observers say the rules should be enforced but tenants The Straits Times spoke to seem to be unclear about the rules. The manager at Costume City, who declined to be named, believes the business is operating within the guidelines. About half the space is used as a showroom to rent out fancy dress costumes; the other half houses its office and warehouse. [e-mail] Additional reporting by Yasmine Yahya, Gan Yu Jia and Yunita Ong 'Don't mislead buyers about units' SHOEBOX factory units - between 50 and 80 sq m or from 538 to 861 sq ft - cannot accommodate genuine industrial activities, said National Development Minister Khaw Boon Wan in a blog posting yesterday. The units may look cheap, and could tempt small-time investors scared off by high residential prices. But they could get a rude shock when they realise how small the units are. The trouble with the so-called shoebox units is that there is not much in the way of industrial production possible in such a small space, experts note. Mr Khaw said that those marketing such properties should make it clear to buyers that industrial units can be used only for industrial activities. That tends to make it hard to find tenants, especially if the Government cracks down on illegal uses such as shops and tuition centres, experts add. EL Development managing director Lim Yew Soon said investors make up about 30 per cent of buyers at his latest industrial estate, Eldix, in Mandai. Unit sizes start from about 1,600 sq ft. Interest from investors has been growing ever since the Government slapped a series of cooling measures on the residential market, he noted. 'We always make sure that our buyers come in with their eyes open and will explain the restrictions of use to them. These restrictions are also listed in the sales and purchase agreement.' Source: The Straits Times 工業廠房不該被濫用 （2012-03-17）   非工業性質的行業出現在工業園區越來越普遍，圖為設在亨德森工業園的旅行社；其他如宗教團體、補習中心、托兒所等也可在不少工業園看到。（蕭紫薇攝）  許文遠昨天發表的博客文章引起市場人士關注。一些受訪人士認為，這可能意味，政府很快就會向這些租用工業單位的未經獲準非工業用戶開刀。一旦政府人員真正地執行條例、采取行動，就可能衝擊到近年來相當紅火的工業房地產市場，導致工業房地產市場冷卻下來。 吳慧敏　報道 [e-mail] 　　國家發展部長許文遠警告，發展商和房地產經紀不應該誤導買家濫用工業地段或工業園，非法地從事商業和辦公室活動。他們必須開門見山地向有意購買者闡明，工業單位隻能用在工業用途上。 　　許部長昨天在最新的博客文章“鞋盒廠房？”中，針對越來越多非工業性質的行業出現在工業園區，發表上述看法。 　　他說，市區重建局將一些地段劃分為工業用途，目的是為了保持本土工業的競爭力，確保工業用地的價格比其他土地，例如商業和辦公用地便宜。但是，一些非工業租戶卻租用工業廠房，來進行未經許可商業活動，等於濫用工業地段和工業園便宜的租金。他認為，這是錯誤的。 　　上個月有報章報道，一些非工業用戶，包括教堂、補習中心、旅行社等，開始出現在一些工業園區，如兀蘭工業園、惹蘭柏民賓（Jln Pemimpin)和亞曆山大工業園等。 　 　單單是惹蘭柏民賓、Clarus Centre的其中一棟大樓，就可以從租戶指示牌上看到，有五個宗教團體落戶於此，這包括Hope Sanctuary、三一社區中心（Trinity Community Centre）和Victory Harvest Church。補習中心TWIG也是租戶之一。 　　這個趨勢引起市場人士的關注，有人擔心越來越多非工業用戶的進駐，將刺激工業工廠的需求上升，從而推高工業廠房的租金，導致真正的工業用戶必須承擔昂貴的租金，喪失競爭能力。 　　目前，商店或辦公樓的平均租金大約是每平方英尺9元，但是屋齡較大的工業廠房單位，租金卻可以低至每平方英尺2元。 　　許文遠承認，目前工業園區確實存在一些未經許可的非工業租戶。不過，大多數非工業租戶仍是合法的，他們主要進行一些受許可的非工業活動，來服務園區內工作的人，這包括：員工餐廳、診所和展示廳等。 　　不過，市建局的規定是，這類非工業活動所占的麵積，連同電梯間和其他的走動空間，不能超過整個工業項目的40％麵積。此外，它們也必須具有服務主要工業活動的作用。 “鞋盒廠房” 不能滿足工業真正需要 　　許文遠昨天也發表了他對“鞋盒廠房”的看法。他說，“鞋盒公寓”有其市場需求，滿足了一些單身人士的住屋需要，但是他不認為隻有50至80平方公尺（比一家典型7－11便利店還要小）的“鞋盒廠房”，能夠滿足真正的工業需要。 　　他強調，真正工業活動需要一定的空間來運作。裕廊集團也已作出過預測，真正的工業活動需要至少150平方公尺的麵積，因此它在出售工業地皮時，都向發展商清楚闡明這一點。至於市建局在評估工業園的發展建議書時，也采用相同的標準。 　　他說，獲準的工業活動，包括了製造、貨倉和生產活動。一些電子業務，例如IT基礎與軟件開發活動也是獲允許的。 　　許文遠昨天發表的這篇博客文章引起了許多市場人士的關注。一些受訪的市場人士認為，這可能意味，政府很快就會向這些租用工業單位的未經獲準非工業用戶開刀。 　　國際產業顧問（International Property Advisor，簡稱IPA）總裁邱瑞榮表示：“我相信接下來市區重建局應該會更頻密地派人到一些工業大廈檢查，確保廠房沒有被濫用。對於提交上來的工業項目建築藍圖，它也應該會更嚴格地把關。”   　他相信，一旦政府人員真正地執行條例、采取行動，就可能衝擊到近年來相當紅火的工業房地產市場，導致工業房地產市場冷卻下來。 　　業者指出，過去兩年來，政府三番四次為房市降溫，工商業房地產卻不受影響，因此吸引一些投資者開始將目光投向店鋪、小型辦公樓和工業廠房。例如兀蘭的Primz BizHub工業項目，買來投資的非工業用戶買家，就占了總銷售量的差不多三成。