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HSBC
 
Purchaser of HSBC's site
Ask most Singapore businessmen what their hobbies are and you'll get a reply
like 'golf' or 'collecting antiques' or 'miniature cars'.
But Raymond Ng says his hobby is venturing into
new businesses. In fact, the former Secondary two school dropout says he
started dabbling in property development as a hobby. Initially, he teamed up
with friends to develop smallish terrace shophouse and apartment projects.
Four years ago, he decided to grow a little
bigger.
He bought the freehold Martaban Court in the
Balestier area and began work on the De Paradiso apartment block, which was
completed recently. He has sold 30 of the 54 units at an average price of
$640 psf and is relaunching the rest this weekend at $590 psf, throwing in
an attractive package to lure buyers.
What catapulted Mr Ng to prominence in local
property circles was his emergence as the buyer of HSBC's sprawling Good
Class Bungalow site at Bishopsgate in October last year.
The price tag for the site was nearly $70 million.
Mr Ng later formed property company BS Capital to
hold the 276,112 sq ft Bishopsgate site which it has since carved into 16
smaller bungalow parcels for sale.
Back in 1989, Mr Ng founded electronic waste
recycler Citiraya together with his brother. Citiraya was listed on the
mainboard two years ago and earlier this year, Mr Ng completely sold his
stake in the company.
'But we've not seen the last of Raymond Ng in the
recycling business,' promises his business partner Seow Siew Lan.
'We don't want to waste his experience,' quips Ms
Seow, who hopes to rope in Mr Ng for a new e-waste recycling venture that
she set up recently.
She holds a 10 per cent stake in BS Capital. -
SINGAPORE
BUSINESS TIMES 30 Sept 2004
HSBC sells bungalow plot for close to
$70m
Site, which can be subdivided into 16 lots, sold at 15% below asking
price
HSBC inked a deal on Monday to sell its
sprawling Good Class Bungalow (GCB) parcel in Bishopsgate for $69.8 million.
At 276,112 sq ft, this is the largest GCB
parcel to come on the market in recent times. The price fetched is lower
than the $82.5 million 'official asking price' indicated for the freehold
site - which can be subdivided into 16 GCB plots - when it was put on the
market in August.
The price works out to $252.80 psf of
land area and a higher $285 psf of net land area of 244,772 sq ft after
providing for roads and an electrical substation, assuming a buyer
sub-divides the land into 16 plots.
The buyer is understood to be a
low-profile property investment company. Its intentions for the property
have yet to be finalised but are likely to involve subdivision, with some
lots being developed for the company and its owners and the rest possibly
being sold.
Assuming the buyer subdivides the site
into 16 GCB plots, the land cost per plot will work out to $4.36 million and
the breakeven cost to about $6.3 million. CBRE executive director Jeremy
Lake estimated that new GCBs in this location would probably sell now for
about $8 million to $8.5 million each.
The tender for the site, which closed on
Sept 25, is understood to have attracted five offers, comprising bids and
letters of interest. The parties included developers and consortia of
high-net-worth individuals keen on designing and building their own
bungalows.
HSBC's sprawling site fronts a good
stretch of Bishopsgate and abuts the Indonesian Embassy.
Subdivision into 16 plots will meet the
minimum land area of 15,070 sq ft (1,400 sq m) stipulated by the Urban
Redevelopment Authority for GCBs.
HSBC's parcel houses three bungalows, two
built in the early 1960s and one in 1984. They used to house the bank's
senior expatriate staff but are now empty.
The Bishopsgate site was the last major
piece of real estate in Singapore owned by the bank. It recently disposed of
its historic MacDonald House building at Dhoby Ghaut for $36 million. And in
late 2000, it sold a 201,782 sq ft freehold bungalow site in Jervois Road
for $60 million, or slightly over $330 psf of net land area.
Other GCB sites sold this year have
been much smaller plots and include 28M Nassim Road, sold by motor tycoon
Peter Kwee to Oei Siu Hoa, sister of tycoon Oei Hong Leong, for $25.5
million or a record $647 psf of the 39,383 sq ft land area.
- By Kalpana Rashiwala
Singapore Business Times
29 Oct 2003
HSBC's Bishopsgate GCB site put up for
sale
Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation has put
up for sale the largest Good Class Bungalow (GCB) parcel to come on the
market in recent times.
Its 276,112 sq ft freehold plot at Bishopsgate -
which can be sub-divided into 16 GCB plots - has an 'official asking price
of $82.5 million', says Jeremy Lake, executive director of exclusive
marketing agent CB Richard Ellis.
This works out to $299 per sq ft of land area and
a higher $337 psf of net land area of 244,772 sq ft after providing for
roads and an electrical substation, assuming a buyer sub-divides the land
into 16 plots.
GCB sites sold this year include 17 Tanglin Hill,
which fetched $430 psf of land area of 15,091 sq ft, and 3 Victoria Park
Close ($340 psf of 30,228 sq ft land area)
HSBC's sprawling site fronts a good stretch of
Bishopsgate and abuts the Indonesian Embassy.
Subdivision into 16 plots will meet the minimum
land area of 15,070 sq ft (1,400 sq m) stipulated by the Urban Redevelopment
Authority for GCBs.
Based on the $82.5 million asking price, the land
cost per bungalow plot works out to about $5 million to $5.2 million, with a
likely breakeven cost of about $6.5-7.2 million, analysts estimate.
New bungalows on the site could now fetch $8
million to $8.5 million each, according to CBRE.
Alternatively, a buyer may sub-divide the land
into fewer, larger plots. This would increase net land area, as less will be
required for roads.
'The site is likely to be of interest to some
developers and also to groups of high net-worth individuals who form
consortia to buy the property and subsequently design and build their own
bungalows,' Mr Lake said.
The parcel houses three bungalows, two built in
the early 1960s and one in 1984. They used to house the bank's senior
expatriate staff but are now empty. 'We are currently housing these senior
staff more cost-effectively in rental accommodation. We no longer have any
business use for the Bishopsgate property, so we're divesting it,' said HSBC
Singapore's chief operating officer Stephen Anderson.
Asked if the bank had considered redeveloping the
property itself or just holding on to the site for capital appreciation, Mr
Anderson said: 'We're not in the business of either property development or
property speculation.'
The tender for the site closes on Sept 25.
This is the second sizeable GCB site the bank has
put up for sale in recent years. In late 2000, it sold a 201,782 sq ft
freehold bungalow site in nearby Jervois Road for $60 million, or slightly
over $330 psf of net land area. And recently, HSBC sold its historic
MacDonald House building at Dhoby Ghaut for $36 million.
- By Kalpana Rashiwala
Singapore Business Times
26 Aug 2003
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