PREVIEW-Rising home prices to boost top Singapore developers

* What: Keppel Land, CapitaLand, City Developments year
results
* When: Starting Jan 29 with Keppel Land
* Gains from rising home sales and prices but fewer one-offs

By Daryl Loo

SINGAPORE, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Singapore's top three
property developers are expected to report a sterling year of
results, benefiting from a boom in Asia, but market turmoil and
government intervention to curb house inflation is clouding
2008 prospects.

Keppel Land (KLAN.SI), which kicks off results for
developers on Jan. 29, is set to report fourth-quarter net
profit more than tripled on rising property values and a
one-off divestment gain, according to a Reuters poll of four
analysts.

For the full year, Keppel Land's net profit is expected to
have more than doubled, reflecting strong residential property
sales at its harbour-front Keppel Bay projects.
"We're expecting a very strong quarter for developers based on
contributions from the residential sector," said Daiwa analyst
David Lum.

Analysts say Keppel Land, 53-percent owned by conglomerate
Keppel Corp (KPLM.SI), will see fourth quarter earnings boosted
by the divestment of its one-third stake in the One Raffles
Quay office building to 40-percent owned K-REIT Asia (KASA.SI)
for S$939 million.

Private home prices in Singapore jumped 31 percent in 2007,
the largest increase in eight years, while developers will also
benefit from booming property markets in China, India and
Vietnam.

Lum said a move by the government in October to cool
Singapore's housing market by ending a delayed payments scheme
would have had little impact on the quarter.

SLOWER 2008

But sales figures and the price growth of homes are
expected to be slower in 2008, as homebuyers hold off on
purchases to wait out the financial turmoil hitting global
markets.

"New property launches will probably be delayed until the
second quarter of the year and beyond because buyers are more
cautious, but we think prices will still pick up especially in
the middle end of the market," said Wilson Liew, property
analyst at Kim Eng.

Analysts expect CapitaLand's (CATL.SI) fourth-quarter net
profit to have slipped 23 percent year-on-year, due to the
absence of one-off revaluation gains that lifted earnings in
the fourth quarter of 2006.

For the full year, five analysts polled by Reuters expect
CapitaLand, Southeast Asia's largest developer by market value,
to report a 135 percent jump in earnings to S$2.4 billion.

Analysts say this would have been boosted by strong
property sales in China, which currently contribute 32 percent
to CapitaLand earnings, despite a move by Beijing in July to
curb property speculation by imposing a land appreciation tax.

"The change had no impact as CapitaLand's inventory in
China is now close to fully sold, so any effect would probably
only be felt later," said CIMB-GK analyst Donald Chua.

He also expects CapitaLand's real estate investment trust
(REIT) subsidiaries, which include CapitaMall Trust (CMLT.SI),
CapitaCommercial Trust (CACT.SI), and CapitaRetail China Trust
(CRCT.SI), to continue making strong contributions.

City Developments (CTDM.SI), Singapore's second-biggest
developer, is expected to report fourth-quarter net profit slid
2.9 percent from the same period the previous year, which was
inflated by a S$151 million one-time gain from the divestment
of four hotels to CDL Hospitality Trusts (CDLT.SI).

But analysts expect CityDev to continue booking strong
income from sales of its luxury apartments including the
waterfront Sail @ Marina Bay project, and the sold-out
Solitaire apartments in Singapore's high-end Bukit Timah
residential district.

For the full year, CityDev's net profit is expected to jump
77 percent, according to a Reuters poll of five analysts. They
expect a further boost from continued earnings growth from its
U.K. hotels arm, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (MLC.L), which
scheduled to post its full-year results on Feb 20.

Shares in the three companies underperformed the 4.9
percent fall in the benchmark STI Index .FTSTI in the
quarter. Keppel Land shed 12.3 percent, Capitaland fell 23.1
percent and CityDev was down 12.4 percent.

FORECAST NET PROFIT AVG (S$ million)

Q4 2007 CHANGE (PCT) VS Q4 2006 ANALYSTS

CapitaLand 350 -23 456 5

CityDev 133 -2.9 137 5

KepLand 302 273 81 4

FORECAST FULL-YEAR NET PROFIT AVG (S$ million)

2007 CHANGE (PCT) VS 2006 ANALYSTS

CapitaLand 2396 135 1018 5

CityDev 623 77 352 5

KepLand 509 154 200 4

Source: Reuters poll
(Reporting by Daryl Loo; Editing by Lincoln Feast)