Singapore property tycoon predicts 6-mth market lull-paper

SINGAPORE, April 3 (Reuters) - The uncertainty surrounding Singapore's property market will last at least another six months and not end until the U.S. subprime crisis clears, a newspaper quoted a local property magnate as saying.

City Developments (CTDM.SI: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) Executive Chairman Kwek Leng Beng suggested in an interview with the Business Times daily that he may delay the launch of new projects.

"As a developer, if I said last year that I was planning to launch five projects this year, but you know this year the market is quiet, it would be unwise for me to say 'because I decided last year to launch five projects this year, I must still go ahead'," he said.

Singapore private home prices rose 4.2 percent between January and March, their slowest growth since 2006, but continued to climb for the fourth year even as property sales slowed, early estimates showed on Tuesday. [ID:nSIN31267]

Kwek, who is Singapore's fifth-richest man, also suggested the government should rethink its decision to halt a deferred payment scheme, which had allowed buyers to pay for purchases of new property until after a project is completed.

"If I am a developer and I want to offer deferred payment schemes to my home buyers, perhaps the developers' bankers may be in a better position to assess the viability of the scheme even whilst staying prudent."

The government had scrapped the scheme last year in a bid to curb speculation in a surging property market. (Reporting by Daryl Loo; Editing by Jan Dahinten)