A general view of Marina Bay Sands hotels and resorts is seen lit-up in Singapore on November 19, … [+]
Chinese developer Kingsford Huray Development and a consortium led by billionaire Wee Cho Yaw’s UOL submitted top bids for two prime mixed-use residential and commercial sites across Singapore, with most developers remaining cautious amid soaring interest rates and government’s recent property cooling measures.
Kingsford—which is helmed by Chinese businessman Cui Zhengfeng, a naturalized Singapore citizen—offered S$1 billion ($739 million) for a 12,245 square meter site at Marina Gardens Lane. The offer was 42% more than S$727 million bid by Malaysian billionaire Quek Leng Chan’s GuocoLand.
“The bidding environment was a bit cautious,” Vijay Natarajan, an analyst at RHB Capital, said, noting the tepid bid from GuocoLand as well as billionaire Kwek Leng Beng’s City Developments, which offered S$703 million.
The Marina Gardens site, on which 790 high-rise residential units can be built, is the first parcel the government auctioned in the Marina South precinct, across Gardens by the Bay and the iconic Marina Bay Sands. The government aims to develop the area into a neighborhood with residential apartments, hotels, retail space and some office buildings. When fully developed, the district will have as many as 10,000 residential units.
The site is the latest property to be auctioned by Urban Redevelopment Authority in the Marina Bay district since selling a hotel and residential site to Malaysian developer IOI Properties for S$1.5 billion in September 2021. The government is releasing more state land for auction to private developers seeking to replenish their land banks as the Singapore housing market defies a global downturn in the property market amid soaring rents in the Lion City.
At the eastern Singapore suburb of Tampines, UOL, along with sister company Singapore Land and CapitaLand submitted the highest bid of S$1.2 billion for a 50,680 square meter site on Tampines Avenue 11. There were only three bids received for the 99-year leasehold property on which about 1,190 residential units can be built. It will be integrated into a commercial center and bus interchange and is near the upcoming Tampines North MRT station, according to the Housing & Development Board.
There was keen interest from nine developers including City Developments and Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi’s Frasers Property in a 16,441 square meters site in Plantation Close in western Singapore district of Jurong. About 495 residential units can be built on the 99-year leasehold property, according to the HDB.