A consortium that includes Frasers Property—controlled by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi and his family—submitted the highest bid of S$491.5 million ($387 million) for a residential plot in Singapore’s upscale Bukit Timah neighborhood.
Frasers Property and its partners Japan’s Sekisui House and CSC Land, a unit of Beijing-based China State Construction Engineering Corp, outbid eight other groups for the hotly contested plot on the site of the former Singapore Turf City horse racing track until 1999 when it moved to the western Singapore town of Kranji. The government is closing the Kranji race track for good in 2027 and developing a housing estate on the property.
Other bidders for the 99-year leasehold site on Dunearn Road include City Developments, controlled by real estate tycoon Kwek Leng Beng and his family, as well as billionaire Wee family’s UOL Group, which partnered with unit Singapore Land and privately owned Kheng Leong Co.
About 380 residential condominium units can be built on the 13,492 square meter site, according to the Urban Redevelopment Authority. The site is located within a coveted residential enclave near the Sixth Avenue MRT station, Leonard Tay, head of research at property consultancy Knight Frank in Singapore, said in an emailed statement.
“With limited new launches in the area in recent months, pent-up domestic demand particularly from owner-occupiers familiar with Bukit Timah’s character and education belt is expected to support interest at [the project’s]
launch,” Tay said.
The project may sell for as much as S$3,200 per square foot, above the effective top bid of S$1,410 per square foot per plot ratio, Tay added.
Frasers Property has been stepping up residential developments to tap into resilient demand for luxury homes in the city-state. Last November, it partnered with Sekisui House to redevelop a serviced apartment along the Singapore River near the Raffles Place central business district into a mixed use residential and retail complex.
Charoen, 81, is Thailand’s third-richest person with a net worth of $10.6 billion based on real-time Forbes data. The self-made billionaire took control of Frasers Property—which owns residential, offices, shopping malls, logistics properties and hotels across Australia, China, Europe and Southeast Asia—following his takeover of Fraser & Neave in 2013. Charoen also owns Chang beer maker Thai Beverages and Bangkok-based developer Asset World Corp.
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