Bungalow - buying foreigners buying in Sentosa

They are buying fewer bungalows in other prized locations in the rest of the city - but more at Sentosa Cove.

Foreigners (including Singapore permanent residents) have seen their share of bungalow purchases in Districts 10, 11 and 21 - home to many Good Class Bungalow areas - fall last year from the preceding year.

In absolute numbers too the number of detached houses bought by foreigners in these three districts in the past couple of years was generally much smaller than in 2006/2007 - the peak years of foreign buying of Singapore property.

However, in District 4 (which includes Sentosa Cove), both the percentage share of bungalows bought by foreigners as well as the absolute number of bungalows they purchased scaled fresh highs last year, according to a caveats analysis of bungalow transactions by CB Richard Ellis.

Knight Frank chairman Tan Tiong Cheng attributes the divergent trends in foreign buying of upmarket bungalows on mainland Singapore versus Sentosa Cove to the fact that fewer were granted PR status last year compared with 2009.

Last year, the government granted only 29,265 permanent resident passes, fewer than half of the 59,460 passes given out the year before. This number was the lowest PR intake in at least the last five years.

'One of the criteria for a foreigner to be granted approval to buy a landed home on mainland Singapore is that he or she has to be a Singapore PR (making adequate contribution to Singapore's economy). And even those who are PRs may have faced stricter criteria in getting approval to buy landed homes last year,' suggests Mr Tan.

'On the other hand, for Sentosa Cove a foreigner does not have to be a PR to get approval to own a landed home. So it's easier for foreigners to buy bungalows there.'

A spokesperson for Singapore Land Authority said: 'The government has been and will continue to be strict in granting approval for non-Singaporeans to purchase landed residential properties in Singapore. We assess very carefully the merits of each application. Permanent Residents today own less than 4 per cent of landed residential properties in Singapore. We intend to continue with the strict approach we have taken.'

'The number of applications received (from non-Singaporeans to buy landed homes) generally reflects the prevailing property market sentiment and is not reflective of the number of (landed) properties eventually bought by non-Singaporeans as some may not proceed further to purchase the property after getting approval.'

According to Newsman Realty managing director KH Tan, in the past, the SLA's Land Dealings (Approval) Unit had in some instances allowed PRs to buy GCBs with land areas slightly larger than the 15,000 sq ft maximum size set for foreigners buying landed homes. 'However, since late-2009, LDAU has turned down applications by PRs seeking to buy bungalows with over 15,000 sq ft in land area,' he said.

Most GCBs would be in this category and this could account for the decline in foreigners' share of bungalow purchases in Districts 10, 11 and 21.

He also said that he has come across some PR clients from the West who were previously looking at buying a GCB in Singapore but last year decided there was more value in overseas property markets like New York and London.

On the other hand, at Sentosa Cove, foreign buying continued to strengthen because it is the only place in Singapore where foreigners who are not PRs may own a landed home. And cash-rich mainland Chinese prepared to pay the high asking prices are fuelling foreign buying, says Mr Tan.

CBRE's analysis of URA Realis caveats data shows that the percentage of bungalows in District 4 (including Sentosa Cove) bought by foreigners swelled to a record 49.3 per cent last year - from 37.3 per cent in 2009. The number of such homes they purchased also surged from 9 in 2006 and 23 in 2007 to 33 last year.

District 10 - which includes GCB areas like Nassim Road, Cluny Park, Chatsworth Park, Queen Astrid Park and Leedon Park - saw the percentage of bungalows picked up by foreigners fall from 13.3 per cent in 2009 to 10.4 per cent in 2010. In absolute numbers, the number of bungalows foreigners have bought in this district has declined from 25 in 2006 and 20 in 2007 to 15 in 2009 and 14 in 2010.

It was a similar trend in District 11 - which covers GCB areas like Swiss Club Road, Raffles Park, Eng Neo Avenue, Camden Park, Chee Hoon Avenue and Caldecott Hill Estate. The foreign buying share slipped from 4.7 per cent in 2009 to 3.9 per cent in 2010; it used to be 18.5 per cent in 2006. The number of foreign buyers has also dwindled from 17 in 2006 and 16 in 2007 to 3 each in 2009 and 2010.

Over in District 21 - home to GCB areas like King Albert Park, Kilburn Estate and Binjai Park - the number of foreigners acquiring bungalows has slid from eight in 2006 to three each in 2009 and 2010. Foreigners made up 10 per cent of bungalow buyers last year, down from 11.5 per cent in 2009 and 17.8 per cent back in 2006.

Foreigners need LDAU's approval before they can own landed property in Singapore. On mainland Singapore, the main criteria are that they are Singapore PRs and that they make an adequate economic contribution. Typically it takes LDAU about four weeks to process an application.

Foreigners buying landed homes on Sentosa Cove have traditionally enjoyed a 48-hour expedited approval channel from LDAU for their applications. While this is still available, SLA said: 'Some applications may require more time, especially where more information is needed for assessment.'    --- 2011 March 31   SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

Sentosa Island is one of the jewels of Singapore we first visited over fifteen years ago but it has taken this long to get significant momentum going on this major masterplan opportunity.   Now the Americans are looking to be part of the Integrated Resort as they 'spread their wings' into Asia.   The 'feng shui' though is questioned by some Asians because they are superstitious because the locale used to be a pirate's den!       However many do not practise feng shui and now there is a track record to demonstrate liquidity.   This area is also the only location where Expatriates can buy without special permissions so the waterfront setting on an urban island has a lot of appeal.    The community keeps expanding with new concepts and investors and is thriving.  

• Universal | Speilberg Theme Park

Foreigners again look to buy homes on the island as the economy improves

After a muted 2008, property sales at Sentosa Cove picked up again in 2009 as buyer interest returned to the high-end and luxury segments of Singapore's property market.

According to data compiled by Savills Singapore (above chart), 125 non-landed and 33 landed homes were sold on the island in 2009, up from 67 non-landed units and just five landed homes in 2008.

And more homes worth more than $10 million apiece were also sold on the island last year. Savills' data shows that 30 homes worth $10 million and more were sold at Sentosa Cove in 2009, compared to just one such property in 2008 and 15 during the height of the property boom in 2007.

FAST FACTS:

Unique lifestyle:  Malaysia-based YTL Corporation has sold six of the 13 villas at its Kasara project at Sentosa Cove, at prices ranging from $14 million to $22 million. This works out to about $1,600 per sq ft on average. YTL sold the six villas in November and December through private previews. It will officially launch the remaining seven villas were marketed in January 2010. At Kasara, selling prices will be bumped up slightly with the official launch. The villas, which range from 9,000 sq ft to more than 14,000 sq ft, will now be sold for an average $1,700 psf. They were designed by DP Architects and aim to combine Asian architectural style with European interiors and fittings. YTL said the six homes sold so far have been bought by Singaporeans and foreigners from the Asia-Pacific and Europe.

Developers and analysts say that with the global economy picking up, foreigners are once again looking to buy properties on the island.

Sentosa Cove is the only place in Singapore where foreigners can own landed property without special permission.

'Sentosa Cove with its unique lifestyle offerings has already attracted a strong following of high net-worth individuals from around the globe,' said DTZ managing director Margaret Thean.

She noted that the recent sales of Malaysia-based YTL Corporation's Kasara project at Sentosa Cove demonstrates the optimism of market sentiment and confidence in Singapore's luxury property market, which is expected to be further strengthened with the completion of the developments around the Marina Bay Financial Centre and the two upcoming integrated resorts.

YTL said last week that it has sold six of the 13 villas at Kasara at prices ranging from $14 million to $22 million. This works out to about $1,600 per square foot on average. Buyers included foreigners from Asia-Pacific and Europe.

The improved sentiment means that potential buyers can expect project launches on the island soon. City Developments is expected to launch its 228-unit luxury project The Quayside Collection soon.

The property group last year announced that it will delay launching the project due to the subdued property market and global economic uncertainty but will proceed with construction.

And Ho Bee Investment could also launch its two remaining Sentosa Cove projects later this year. The group has the 151-unit Seascape as well as Pinnacle Collection, which has some 280 apartments in all, left in its portfolio.   2010  January 8    BUSINESS TIMES

Sentosa's tenants get 15% rent rebate
SDC joins other govt agencies in channelling savings from property tax rebates

Sentosa Development Corporation said yesterday it will give its tenants a 15 per cent rent rebate.

The move - backdated to Jan 1 and effective until the end of this year - will benefit 47 tenants who run attractions, beach pubs, food and beverage and retail outlets, and other businesses such as bicycle hire kiosks.

They will get monthly rent rebates of between $180 and $3,000. About 80 per cent of tenants on the island will benefit. The other 20 per cent, who pay property tax direct to the government, will not be eligible as they will benefit from the government's property tax rebate.

In January, the government said owners of industrial and commercial property will get a 40 per cent tax rebate this year.

Similar measures to help tenants were put in place during the last economic recession in 1997-98 and the Sars outbreak in 2003, Sentosa said.

It joins other government agencies - such as the Housing and Development Board, Singapore Land Authority, JTC Corporation and National Environment Agency - in giving tenants 15 per cent rent rebates.

'Sentosa is channelling the savings we will get from the government's property tax rebates back to our island partners,' said Mike Barclay, chief executive of Sentosa Development Corporation.

'These rebates are consistent with our wider objective of working with our island partners to create irresistible value for all guests visiting Sentosa.'

In the coming months, Sentosa will also spearhead several sales and marketing campaigns on behalf of its tenants.  - 2009 March 18   BUSINESS TIMES

Rentals making gentle waves at Sentosa Cove 
They could hold firm despite gloom elsewhere and offer decent yields

Close to 300 homes at Sentosa Cove, including 200 condominium units, have received Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) and the exclusive enclave is starting to bustle.

DTZ Debenham Tie Leung, which is the property manager of the 200-unit The Berth by the Cove says that the development is now about 70 per cent tenanted.

It added that the remaining units of the fully-sold development are owner-occupied, some of which are weekend homes or holiday homes for foreigners.

Other developments that have received TOP include The Berthside, Ocean 8, The Villas @ Sentosa Cove, Coral Island and North Cove.

Expected to come onto the leasing market next is the 116-unit The Azure, which is also fully sold.

And the popularity of The Berth by the Cove with the leasing market bodes well for the remaining 2,200 homes that are still being constructed.

DTZ senior director (research) Chua Chor Hoon said that the supply of new homes in Sentosa Cove is still 'limited' compared to the rest of Singapore and the units have 'the unique feature of close proximity to the sea'.

Saying that the limited supply of units in Sentosa Cove will limit any downward pressure on rentals, Ms Chua added: 'Rental prospects are likely to be better.'

This upbeat outlook for Sentosa Cove is particularly pertinent at a time when new housing supply is expected to flood the rental market by next year.

In a recent report, DTZ noted that in general, rentals would come under pressure between 2009 and 2011, not just from new supply but from the sub-sale market as well as it is unlikely that speculators will want to hold units for low rental income.

DTZ said that based on its basket of non-landed properties in the prime district (excluding luxury properties) average monthly rents are currently still holding steady at $4.90 psf per month.

While DTZ did not reveal rentals at The Berth by the Cove, a check with SISV-Realink shows that the rental for a unit there contracted for $19,500 per month in May.

Colliers International also said it believes median rentals could be around $6 psf per month.

Colliers director (research and advisory) Tay Huey Ying added that based on the average launch price of The Berth by the Cove of about $860 psf in 2004/2005, investors who bought units at this price could now be enjoying a net rental yield of about 5.5 per cent.

Those that bought units from the secondary market later when the price rose to about $1,500 psf will be looking at a net rental yield of 3.5 per cent.

'Nevertheless, these investors would still be enjoying a higher net rental return compared to those who invested in a freehold luxury apartment on the main island of Singapore in recent times since the latter are generating average net rental returns estimated to be in the region of 2.3 per cent,' added Ms Tay.

In time over 1,700 condominiums will be completed. Savills Singapore director (marketing and business development) Ku Swee Yong believes that buyers for most of these units will be investors, suggesting that a majority will be put up for lease.

Still, he said that there is a niche market for this type of waterfront home. 'We had an expat client who was looking to rent and after showing him a few options, he chose The Berth because he already has a yacht,' reveals Mr Ku.

Interestingly, Mr Ku says the advent of the integrated resort on Sentosa may not necessarily guarantee a pool of tenants. 'Not everyone will want to live so close to work,' he added.

What he does believe is crucial to the success of Sentosa Cove as an exclusive enclave is the provision of high end amenities. He added: 'Once these are completed, we believe Sentosa Cove rents could demand a premium over Orchard Road.'   - 2008 July 3    THE BUSINESS TIMES

Staking a claim in the new Singapore

When the master developer of Sentosa Cove, an exclusive oceanfront residential community here, started selling land to individual builders in 2003, the first plot went for 350 Singapore dollars per square foot. In July, during the most recent land auction for a condominium site, the price was 1,799 dollars a square foot.

"Back in 2003, it was an untested market and the sale came right after SARS," recalled Nicholas Chua, the business development and marketing manager at Ho Bee Group, which paid the equivalent of $203 a square foot at the time. "The confidence level in the property market wasn't that great." Now, Ho Bee owns six development sites there.

The luxury development's success partly reflects the underlying strength of Singapore's property market, which is expected to increase by as much as 30 percent this year, estimated Tay Huey Ying, director of research and consultancy at Colliers International real estate in Singapore. It also has benefited from the government's 48-hour fast-track approval program for foreigners who want to buy homes or land in the development as well as plans to build a resort featuring a casino and Universal Studios theme park nearby.

"The product wasn't a success at the beginning because it didn't look interesting to the market, especially after the Dubai Palm and The World were launched in Dubai," said Ku Swee Yong, director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore. "It was after mid-2005, when the casino was announced, that buyers become more confident in the Cove's prospects."

"Solid marketing has also helped," Ku said. "Developers will do well to take a leaf from the books of Sentosa Cove. The packaging has been so successful that investors who failed to secure a plot of land there still aspire to live there.

"I hope they will continue to sustain the brand name years after the Sentosa integrated resort has been completed and packed in with tourists," he said.

In the space of a few years, Sentosa Cove, the only residential development on Sentosa Island, has become one of Southeast Asia's most exclusive and expensive addresses, with three-bedroom condominiums selling for 5 million dollars and free-standing properties selling for 15 million.

The Cove has been marketed as "the world's most desirable address" — a poster child for the "new" Singapore, which is trying to reinvent itself. In recent years, the city-state of 4.5 million has polished up its image as a dull place by developing a vibrant nightlife and art scene, announcing plans for two integrated resorts with casinos (including a family resort on Sentosa), and scheduling its first Formula One Grand Prix on Sept. 28.

On the economic front, the country also has become an important financial hub for private banking and hedge fund management, luring hordes of well-heeled bankers that splash out on high-end properties.

Sentosa Cove is divided into two gated communities, covering 117 hectares, or 290 acres, 60 percent of which has been reclaimed from the sea. It has a members-only marina with a few berths for mega yachts and a 320-room W Hotel is being planned.

When completed in 2010, the community of oceanfront, waterway-facing and fairway-flanking properties is to total 2,500 homes, including 400 free-standing structures, and 2,100 condominium units. So far, only around 275 homes have been completed.

At this point, more than half of the Cove's buyers are foreigners, developers say.

Sentosa Cove was inspired by Port Grimaud, the 40-year-old lagoon development in the south of France designed by the late François Spoerry. "Our vision was to create one of the most desirable oceanfront residential communities," explained Kemmy Tan, general manager of Sentosa Cove Pte, the project's master planner and developer. "But we also realized we needed to adapt Port Grimaud's concept to a tropical setting."

So far, the company has sold more than 3 billion dollars in land to individual developers; buyers get only 99-year leaseholds on land.

The Cove's property prices have moved up faster than the rest of Singapore's because the overall development started from a lower base, Chua said. Units in Ho Bee's first condominium, The Berth by the Cove, sold for 800 dollars per square foot when they were first offered for sale in 2004. Today, the apartments resell for about 1,800 dollars per square foot.

Meanwhile, a unit at the uncompleted Oceanfront condominium re-sold recently for 2,550 dollars per square foot. The seller initially bought the unit in September 2006 for 1,750 dollars per square foot; the resale produced a profit of more than 2 million dollars.  

Since the start in September of sales of its latest condominium, The Turquoise, Ho Bee has sold 40 of the 55 available units, with prices averaging 5.2 million dollars for a three-bedroom condo and 6 million for a four bedroom.

"People have many reasons for buying on Sentosa. Some love the sea and have a boat they can moor there, others buy because they want to be close to two championship golf courses, and it is 15 minutes away from the financial district," Chua noted.

Jenny Chua, chairwoman of Sentosa Cove Pte, adds that the gated communities offer greater privacy to home buyers. "Obviously this is not a security issue here, but more of a lifestyle decision," she added.

Attention now is focused on the land tender for The Pinnacle Collection, a planned 20-story condominium structure that will be the tallest building on the island and will offer panoramic vistas of the South China Sea, the Southern Islands and the city skyline. The tender closed Dec. 12 and the result should be announced this month.

"The Pinnacle Collection is the last condominium parcel at Sentosa Cove and can categorically be classified as the best. It is anticipated that this will be the most coveted parcel of all, due to its strategic location at the entrance of the marina leading into Sentosa Cove," said Li Hiaw Ho, executive director at CBRE Research in Singapore. Li believes that bids for the undeveloped site will exceed 2,000 dollars per square foot.

All of the buildable land on Sentosa Island will be sold by the end of 2008 but would-be home buyers will still have plenty of opportunities. Ho Bee is planning to sell a 150-unit condo, the Seaview, in the second quarter, while Lippo Group will start selling the Marina Collection and City Development will sell apartments in the Quayside Collection.

Also, sometime this year Elevation Developments will sell apartments in the Cove's only development facing the Sentosa Golf Club's Tanjong Course. The company is considering hiring the renowned architect Zaha Hadid for the project, which should have 20 units of about 6,000 square feet each, each with its own pool, said Satinder Garcha, chief executive of Elevation Developments. At current market prices, Garcha estimates each will sell for about 9 million dollars to 10 million dollars.

The reputation of the Italian architect Claudio Silvestrin probably has made the 18-villa development on Sandy Island, one of the manmade islands in the Cove, one of the area's most anticipated projects.

Silvestrin designs Giorgio Armani's stores; the landscaping will be done by Jamie Durie, an Australian who occasionally appears as a garden consultant on Oprah Winfrey's show.

The villas will range in size from about 6,500 square feet to 12,000 square feet and each will come with a boat berth and private pool. Genesis-Alliance (YTL Companies) will offer them for sale sometime during the first quarter of the year.   - 2008 January 4   INTERNATIONAL HERAL TRIBUNE

Ho Bee tops bid for Sentosa condo plot: sources
Price said to be over $1,350 psf ppr, setting new record for area

Seaview Collection: The 157,108 sq ft condo site boasts a prime location, with unobstructed sea views and facing the Southern Islands. It can be built into an eight-storey condo with about 200 units in total

March 2007 - Ho Bee Investments is said to have cast a top bid of over $1,350 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr) yesterday for a 99-year leasehold condominium site dubbed The Seaview Collection at Sentosa Cove.

This is a new record for condominium land in the upscale housing precinct and surpasses the previous high of $919 psf ppr that Ho Bee itself paid for The Waterfront Collection condominium plot in November last year.

The tender for The Seaview Collection site attracted five bids in total, all above $1,000 psf ppr.

Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd - master planner and developer of the upscale waterfront residential precinct - did not identify the bidders. However, these bidders are believed to be Ho Bee, Lippo Group, City Developments, Frasers Centrepoint and CapitaLand.

SCPL had said at the time that the tender for the Seaview Collection was launched in January that the award will be based solely on price.

Both the Seaview and Watefront collection condominium sites are in Sentosa Cove's Southern Residential Precinct although the Seaview Collection is in a more choice location, next to the sea and facing the Southern Islands.

The plot is the second of only four condominium plots in the Southern Precinct. This means only two more condo plots are left for the whole of Sentosa Cove, and this scarcity value is set to continue pushing up land values barring unforeseen circumstances, say property market watchers.

The Seaview Collection is next to an even more coveted site, designated for a 15-storey condominium at the entrance to Sentosa Cove's marina basin, set to be offered later this year.

As the Seaview Collection has a land area of 157,108 sq ft and a 2.15 plot ratio - the ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area - the top bid works out to a lumpsum amount of about $460 million, reckon market watchers. The parcel can be developed into an eight-storey condo with about 200 units.

Ho Bee's top bid will result in a breakeven cost of about $1,800 psf or possibly even lower, assuming the developer uses up the maximum 10 per cent additional gross floor area allowed for balconies, and factoring in saleable private enclosed areas and roof terraces, analysts estimate.

Assuming Ho Bee is awarded the latest plot, this will be the listed property group's seventh project on Sentosa Cove. - by Kalpana Rashiwala  SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    March 7, 2007

Six bungalow plots awarded, with new benchmark price set at $1,308 psf

2007 - The latest condo site being offered by Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd (SCPL) could fetch as much as $1,100 to $1,200 per square foot of potential gross floor area, market watchers say.

And a spokesman for SCPL revealed yesterday that an expression of interest for six sea-fronting 99-year leasehold bungalow plots that closed in November last year saw a new benchmark price set for bungalow land - $1,308 psf of land area, surpassing previous high of $1,130 psf achieved in October last year.

A new record for condo land in the upscale waterfront housing precinct is expected to be set for the latest condo plot offered yesterday, dubbed The Seaview Collection. It is being offered through a tender that closes on March 6.

Based on the $1,100 to $1,200 psf per plot ratio top bids predicted for the plot by some observers, the breakeven cost for a new project on the site is estimated at $1,600 to $1,750 psf.

Market watchers reckon a new 99-year leasehold condo on the plum site boasting sea views could fetch about $1,800 psf on average if marketed today.

Assuming current bullish sentiment in the luxury housing market continues to prevail, there will be further price upside in the location - which suggests potential bidders could still make a decent profit if they bag land for $1,100 to $1,200 psf per plot ratio.

The 157,108 sq ft plot is the second of four condo plots in Sentosa Cove's Southern Residential Precinct and can be built into an eight-storey condo with about 200 units in total.

The site has a 2.15 plot ratio - the ratio of maximum potential gross floor area to land area. The award will be based solely on price, SCPL said in a statement yesterday.

The last condo site sold at Sentosa Cove - the Waterfront Collection, also in the Southern Precinct - was awarded to Ho Bee late last year for about $919 psf ppr. That can be developed into a six-storey condo.

Seaview Collection boasts a more prime location, with unobstructed sea views and facing Southern Islands. It is next to an even more coveted site designated for a 15-storey condo at the entrance to Sentosa Cove's marina basin. This is expected to be offered later this year.

Knight Frank director Nicholas Mak reckons the winning bid for The Seaview Collection will exceed $1,000 psf ppr. 'The bidding for this site will add more fuel to the already hot market on Sentosa Cove,' he said.

A spokesman for SCPL also revealed yesterday that after an expression of interest exercise that closed in November last year, six seafront bungalow parcels offered on an individual basis have been awarded to the respective top bidders at prices ranging from $927 psf to $1,308 psf of land area, or absolute sums of $8.1 million to $17.2 million.

Singaporeans picked up four of the plots, with a Malaysian and an Indian buying one each.

A tender for the en bloc sale of two man-made islands - Pearl & Sandy in the Southern Precinct - also closed in November. Bids have been evaluated but an award is still pending approval from SCPL's parent ministry, the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

SCPL has sold all the land parcels in Sentosa Cove's Northern Residential Precinct - for a total of 1,528 homes.

The Southern Precinct will have 145 bungalow plots - of which 33 have been sold. The four condo plots in Southern Precinct are for development into 762 homes in total.   - By Kalpana Rashiwala   SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     Jan 9 2007  

Monorail coming to Sentosa to link to Mainland

2006: - Sentosa is seeing a surge in interest from companies looking to develop projects on the island, Sentosa Leisure Group's chief executive Darrell Metzger said yesterday.

Rather than being intimidated by competition from the upcoming Sentosa integrated resort (IR), more companies are hoping to bring up their own attractions on the island as they look forward to a surge in visitor numbers once the resort is there, Mr Metzger said.

Sentosa is in talks with some of these interested parties, he added.

Mr Metzger was speaking to reporters at the preview of the new $140-million Sentosa Express, a monorail system linking the mainland and Sentosa.

Once the monorail starts operations in January, it will boost Sentosa's bid to become a premium resort island for the region, the Sentosa Leisure Group believes.

To begin with, the train will stop at three stations - the VivoCity mega-mall on the mainland, and two more stops on the island.

Another station - Waterfront, which will be in the heart of the IR - will be open only in 2010 when the resort development is completed.

Minister of State for Trade and Industry S Iswaran, who was the guest-of-honour at the handover ceremony of the monorail system from manufacturer Hitachi Asia to Sentosa yesterday afternoon, said that the completion of the monorail marked a milestone in Sentosa's $12 billion masterplan to redevelop and rejuvenate the island resort.

Launched in 2002, the 10-year plan proposes to refresh many of Sentosa's offerings and upgrade existing facilities, enhancing its attractiveness and competitiveness. The masterplan is progressing well, Mr Iswaran said.

Sentosa, which had originally looked to receiving more than eight million visitors a year by 2012, now expects to pass the target by 2010 - when most of the planned attractions on the island, including the IR, are completed.

At present, the island attracts more than five million visitors annually, with a record high of 5.2 million in the latest financial year. - by Uma Shankari    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES   December 5, 2006

Sentosa Cove condo plot draws record $919 psf
Ho Bee's bid price of $181.2m was the highest of five offers for the 119,508.4 sq ft site

A new record has been set for 99-year condominium land on Sentosa Cove, with Ho Bee Investments offering the top bid of $919 psf of potential gross floor area for a tender which closed yesterday.

In absolute price terms, its bid price was $181.2 million, and was the highest of five offers for the 119,508.4 sq ft site, which can be developed into a six-storey condo.

The plot has a 1.65 plot ratio (ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area).

The $919 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) unit land price for the latest Sentosa

Cove condo plot is 12 per cent higher than the $818 psf ppr that a Lippo-led consortium paid two months ago for the Marina Collection site in Sentosa Cove's Northern Residential Precinct.

Lippo's site, next to the One Degree 15 Marina Club, can be developed into a four-storey condo.

Ho Bee's breakeven cost for a six-storey condo on the Waterfront Collection site could be about $1,250 psf, reckon market watchers. It is expected to be eyeing an average selling price of around $2,000 psf or even more by the time it is ready to launch the project, say, in next September.

Its 249-unit The Coast condo on Sentosa Cove released early last month is about 90 per cent sold, at an average price of about $1,600 psf.

Yesterday's provisional tender result cements Ho Bee's position as the leading developer in the upscale waterfront housing district, where it has been buying land since master developer Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd began selling land parcels in the location in late 2003.

Assuming it is awarded the latest Waterfront Collection site, Ho Bee would have spent about $724 million buying slightly more than one million sq ft of land on Sentosa Cove - which it is developing into over 600 homes. This is about a quarter of the total 2,446 homes planned for Sentosa Cove.

The Waterfront Collection site is the first of four condo plots in Sentosa Cove's Southern Residential Precinct.

With fewer and fewer sites left in the location, the scarcity value is expected to continue driving up property prices on Sentosa Cove.

Ho Bee clinched its maiden condo plot (which it has developed into The Berth By The Cove, and received Temporary Occupation Permit recently) in late 2003 for $351 psf ppr. The group has achieved an average selling price of about $900 psf for the 200-unit condo, which is fully sold.

Ho Bee's other projects in the location include eight terrace houses (The Berthside) which are all sold, and two man-made islands with luxury villas.

To date, Ho Bee has sold 20 of the 21 bungalows on Coral Island at prices between $5.3 million and $14 million each.

On average, the price works out to about $800 psf of land area. Ho Bee is getting ready to release 29 bungalows on Paradise Island early next year.

Bidders at yesterday's tender for the Waterfront Collection site - besides Ho Bee - are said to have included City Developments, CapitaLand and Frasers Centrepoint. The site will be awarded based solely on price.

While up to 117 homes can be built on the plot, Ho Bee is expected to build about 100 to 110 units as it opts for mostly large units - three and four-bedroom units and penthouses given current strong demand for bigger apartments.

Units on the third storey and upwards will be able to enjoy views of Tanjong Golf Course.

Ho Bee will have 21 berths in the development.

In fact, all of Ho Bee's condo developments at Sentosa Cove will have berthing facilities.    - by Kalpana Rashiwala     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     30 Nov 2006

Lippo condo draws OCBC, RZB, Marina developer

Lippo Group has drawn together an interesting array of partners for its first condo development at Sentosa Cove, BT understands.

Two banks - Singapore's OCBC and a European bank - as well as the developer of ONE 15 Marina Club, right next to Lippo's site, are all taking equity interests in the 99-year leasehold condo project.

OCBC is also expected to provide Lippo the loan for the development, in addition to taking a 10 per cent equity stake in it. The European bank - said to be Austria's RZB - is expected to take a bigger stake, possibly around 25 per cent. Interestingly, the developer of ONE 15 Marina Club, SUTL Group, took part in the tender for the condo site when it closed in September.

Market watchers expect SUTL and Lippo to explore synergies between the adjacent developments. 'The two could be packaged such that buyers at the condo get free membership of ONE 15 Marina Club. This would enable condo residents to use the marina's facilities,' one market watcher suggests.

Lippo is expected to participate in the development through its Hong Kong-listed unit Hongkong Chinese Ltd and will retain a majority stake of about 50 per cent in the project. The 170-unit condo will be four storeys high and is slated for launch in the second half of 2007. Lippo was the highest bidder for the site, at $234.7 million or $818 per square foot (psf) per plot ratio. Analysts say its breakeven cost could be around $1,200 psf.

Property consultants reckon Lippo aims to surpass the $1,600 psf average selling price that Ho Bee is now getting for The Coast on Sentosa Cove. Ho Bee has sold about 80 per cent of its 249-unit project. Lippo is understood to have appointed Australia's Philip Cox as design consultant for its project and to have tasked Architects 61 with creating 'a bungalow in a condo'. Market watchers say OCBC's 10 per cent interest in the project marks the second time the bank is known to have taken a stake in a property development here in recent months.

OCBC earlier took a 10 per cent interest in the Orchard Central mall project by Far East Organization. That was seen as a strategic investment to pave the way for closer cooperation between Far East and OCBC, which owns the next-door Specialists' Shopping Centre which it plans to redevelop.

Contacted yesterday, OCBC spokeswoman Koh Ching Ching declined to comment on the bank's participation in the Lippo condo project. However, she noted that the Banking Act allows OCBC to take a stake of up to 10 per cent in any company without prior approval from the Monetary Authority of Singapore. And the bank is allowed to hold properties not for its own use, so long as their aggregate net book value does not exceed 20 per cent of the bank's total capital funds.   -   SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     November 4, 2006

Developers bet big on Sentosa Cove condos
Up to 40% margins possible with prices at prime values

Sentosa will be home to Singapore's second integrated resort with casino by 2010 - but the gambling has already started.

Betting on huge profit margins at Sentosa Cove, Lippo Realty recently bid 130 per cent more than the price paid for the first condominium site in December 2003; while Ho Bee Group - which launched the first condo there - will soon launch The Coast at around $1,400 psf, 75 per cent more than an apartment cost there less than three years ago.

The odds are in favour of even higher prices. Last month, Lippo bid a new benchmark price of $234.7 million for the 240,000 sq ft, 99-year leasehold site. Based on data compiled by CB Richard Ellis (CBRE), the price works out to be $818 psf per plot ratio, 28 per cent more than the price for the most recent site sold about a year ago.

Joseph Tan, director (residential) at CBRE, also noted that Lippo's bid price matches those of recent freehold sites sold in District 9. He even believes that Sentosa Cove could become a 'pace-setter' in the movement of prime prices in the residential market.

Lippo has not been awarded the site yet but BT estimates that based on its bid price, the new condo could be launched at around $1,600 psf. When Ho Bee Group launched the first condo The Berth by the Cove in November 2004, average price was just $800 psf. When The Azure by Frasers Centrepoint was launched in September 2005, prices had risen by as much as 25 per cent. By July, City Developments' The Oceanfront @ Sentosa Cove was selling for $1,300-$1,350 psf, about 60 per cent more than The Berth.

Ho Bee should not be too sore, though. A financial analyst who did not want to be named projected a profit of about $173 million for the group from proceeds of The Coast. She is not too concerned about rising land prices at Sentosa either: 'In the near term, we do not foresee any risks.'

Based on estimated construction costs and building efficiency, Ho Bee's project could have a profit margin of between 35 and 40 per cent. Indeed, BT estimates the margins for the previous two developments were also in this region while The Berth enjoyed a margin of around 25 per cent.

Ho Bee is said to have been outbid by Lippo for the latest Marina Collection site by 7 per cent but Lippo will not be expected to take a haircut.

Colin Tan, head of research and consultancy at Chesterton International, said: 'Given the way the market is moving, I would not even rule out prices hitting the $2,000 psf mark.

'Developers would normally factor at least a 25 per cent profit margin in their planning but depending on how the market pans out or takes off, returns of 50 per cent or more would not be surprising.'

This could explain Lippo's bullish bid for the Marina Collection site.

'In the case of Sentosa, developers probably see this site as being less risky - although the price is many times higher - than say a suburban site in an off-location, given the lukewarm conditions in that segment of the market presently,' he added.

A property consultant who did not want to be named agreed. 'Sentosa has not reached its full potential yet. Even in the prime districts, you don't see this potential because it has already been capitalised,' she said. Outside Sentosa, developers generally work with a 10-15 per cent margin, she said.

There are several more residential sites at Sentosa Cove to be released at strategically timed intervals in the future, and two developments are unlikely to ever be launched together.

'Who will Lippo's competitor be?' asks Nicholas Mak, director of research and consultancy at Knight Frank, highlighting that it is very much a sellers' market. Still, buyers will be gambling too. Says Mr Mak: 'The higher the purchase price, the higher the risks for investors.  - by Arthur Sim     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     October 4, 2006

Sentosa Cove's last northern condo site up for grabs
Land price of the site expected to be $550-$600 psf ppr

Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd (SCPL) is putting up for sale the last major site in the Northern Residential Precinct of the upscale waterfront residential enclave 

The Marina Collection comprises two plots for condo development next to the One 15 Marina Club.

The plots totalling 239,198 square feet of land area are being sold on 99-year leasehold tenure for four-storey condo development with up to 170 units. The plot ratio (ratio of potential maximum gross floor area to land area) will be 1.2.

Developers may build luxury waterfront residences, service apartments or vacation homes on the two plots which are being offered as a single parcel through a tender closing on Sept 13.

The award will be based solely on price, SCPL told BT.

A property consultant familiar with Sentosa Cove said: 'The developer of the condo on Marina Collection site could be looking at breaking even at about $900-$950 per square foot (psf). Working backwards, that reflects a land price of about $550-$600 psf per plot ratio (ppr) or an absolute sum of about $158 million to $172 million.'

The latest condominium project launched on Sentosa Cove - CityDev's and TID's 15-storey development called The Oceanfront @ Sentosa Cove - is currently commanding an average price slightly above $1,300 psf.

While the Marina Collection has a much lower height limit and does not face the sea directly, a condo project on the site should still be able to ride on strong demand for homes on Sentosa Cove, reckons the property consultant.

Owners of yachts berthed at the One 15 Marina Club should find it convenient to zip in and out of their weekend or holiday condo at the Marina Collection site.

The four-storey height limit is the shortest for all the condo plots sold so far on Sentosa Cove and that is in keeping with the low-rise character around the pier.

The earlier condo plots sold in the Northern Precinct, or North Cove, can be built up to at least six storeys. Prices of condo plots on North Cove have risen about 80 per cent over a two-year period from $351 psf of potential gross floor area in late 2003, when SCPL began selling land parcels in the location, to $639 psf per plot ratio in January this year. The latter site price was achieved for The Baywater Collection parcel sold to Ho Bee. It comprises three plots - two can be built up to eight storeys and the third up to six storeys.

Just last week, SCPL awarded the Quayside Collection site to City Developments for $255 million or $355 psf ppr but this comprises a mix of hotel, commercial and condo plots, making the latest sale difficult to use as a benchmark for other land sales on Sentosa Cove.

SCPL has moved on to selling land in Sentosa Cove's Southern Precinct. The maiden sale of 12 bungalow plots will be through an auction on Aug 25.

In all, Sentosa Cove will eventually have about 2,500 homes, about 60 per cent of which will be in North Cove. The Marina Collection parcel is linked along the waterfront promenade to Sentosa Cove's Integrated Arrival Plaza and the recently awarded Quayside Collection site which will offer an array of specialty retail shops, restaurants, small office home office (Soho) suites as well as the Westin Hotel. - by Kalpana Rashiwala    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    1 August 2006

Ho Bee puts in top bid for Sentosa condo site
It offers benchmark price of $640 psf ppr: sources

A tender for a 99-year leasehold condominium  Sentosa Cove yesterday drew seven bids and market talk is that Ho Bee group put in the top bid of about $325 million.

This works out to nearly $640 per square foot of potential gross floor area - a new benchmark in the upscale housing district.

But Ho Bee was not alone in its bullish take on the 276,467 sq ft plot, dubbed The Baywater Collection and which actually comprises three land parcels.

The next highest bid, understood to be from Centrepoint Properties, is said to be within 5 per cent of Ho Bee's bid.

Before yesterday's tender close, the highest price fetched for a 99-year leasehold condo site at Sentosa Cove was $485 psf per plot ratio (psf ppr). That price was notched in May when the landmark plot next door gracing the entrance to Sentosa Cove's marina basin was sold to a City Developments-TID Pte Ltd consortium.

Property market watchers say the bullish top bids for the Baywater Collection site was not altogether a surprise, as the site has an elongated double frontage of both the sea and waterway. In other words, all the 262 or so units in the condominium will have both ocean and waterway views.

In addition, there are not that many prime waterfront condo sites on Sentosa Cove remaining. And given the efforts of Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd (SCPL) - the master developer of Sentosa Cove - to position the upscale waterfront housing district as a desirable address for Asia's rich and famous, residential prices there can be expected to escalate further.

Ho Bee's top bid of $640 psf ppr works out to a breakeven cost of about $1,000 psf - not far off from the average price at which Centrepoint's The Azure fetched in October.

A total of 41 berthing facilities will be provided for the condominium on the Baywater Collection site, which should further increase its attraction among the jet set.

Besides Ho Bee and Centrepoint, the other bidders at yesterday's tender close are said to be Wing Tai, SC Global, City Developments, Far East Organization, and a joint venture between CapitaLand and Lippo Group.

The Baywater Collection site is the fourth and largest condo site that SCPL has offered since it began selling housing plots in the upscale residential district in late 2003.

SCPL decided to offer three parcels with separate land titles as a single site to provide the winning bidder the flexibility to amalgamate all three land parcels to build a single condominium development, or to build two or three standalone projects on the three parcels.

Originally, the maximum height for all three plots was set at six storeys, but SCPL later offered a higher eight-storey maximum height for two of the plots.

This will be subject to SCPL getting approval from the planning authorities for the increase in height.

Yesterday's tender required bidders to place their bids based on two scenarios. One assumes that the building height remains at six storeys maximum while the other allows for a two-storey increase in height to eight storeys for two of the three plots.

BT understands that Ho Bee bid close to $640 psf ppr for the latter and a lower price of about $620 psf ppr for the former. On both counts, its bid was the highest, say sources.

That bids crossing $600 psf ppr have been offered for the latest site may surprise some, considering that the maximum height will be only eight storeys, while the plot next door sold to CDL and TID can be built up to 15 storeys high.

But as some seasoned market watchers observed, all condo units in the latest site can face the sea - unlike the earlier plot.

'And once your development is right along the seafront, and nothing else is blocking your view, frankly it may not matter much whether it's eight storeys or 15 storeys, the view's pretty much the same,' said a property source.

In any case, sentiment in Singapore's luxury residential sector has improved by leaps and bounds over the past six months.

This has been fuelled by foreign investors attracted to the growth story that the integrated resorts will bring to the Republic and its property market, which has been lagging those in other parts of Asia. - by Kalpana Rashiwala    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     22 Dec 2005

Sentosa Cove to sell Treasure isle piecemeal
It says demand is high from buyers who want to build own bungalows

SENTOSA Cove Pte Ltd (SCPL), which yesterday awarded Paradise Island to Ho Bee, says it may sell individual bungalow lots on Treasure Island next door, instead of selling it en bloc like Paradise and Coral islands.

Apart from Paradise and Coral islands, all the other bungalow sites at Sentosa Cove have been sold individually and demand has been high.

'Hence, we are considering the release of individual bungalow plots on Treasure Island - instead of doing an en bloc sale - to cater to this strong demand by home owners seeking to build their designer bungalows on an island within Sentosa Cove itself,' an SPCL spokesman said yesterday.

Ho Bee has clinched both islands sold so far.

Treasure Island, which can house 19 bungalows, is the last of three islands at North Cove, where SCPL has been selling land parcels since late 2003.

So far, the master developer of the upmarket waterfront housing precinct has sold land for about 791 homes, making up half of the 1,567 residential units slated for North Cove.

The other 1,000-odd homes planned for Sentosa Cove will be at South Cove, which will include two islands.

When completed, the precinct will have a total of 2,600 homes comprising condo units, bungalows and terraced houses.

Ho Bee's purchase of the 99-year leasehold Paradise Island for $64.44 million works out to about $260 per square foot of the land area of 247,846 sq ft.

This is 26 per cent higher than the $206 psf it paid for Coral Island late last year.

Ho Bee will develop 21 bungalows on Coral Island and the project is slated for launch next month.

Each bungalow will have two storeys and an attic, and its own swimming pool and private berth.

As for its latest catch, Ho Bee can develop up to 33 bungalows on Paradise Island.

While Coral Island was sold by tender - Ho Bee was the sole bidder at $38 million - Paradise Island was sold by an expression-of-interest exercise.

'We're extremely pleased with the level of interest in Paradise Island by very eminent developers, resulting in healthy competition for a very attractive site on Sentosa Cove,' said SCPL chairman Jennie Chua.

Besides Ho Bee, two other parties made submissions for Paradise Island. They are understood to be CapitaLand and Wing Tai.    - by Kalpana Rashiwala    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    11 Aug 2005

Well-heeled snap up Sentosa property

Within hours, 14 waterfront bungalow plots at Sentosa Cove were snapped up on Friday for between $2.48 million and $3 million in special private treaty sales that do away with the usual tender process and allow buyers to make a decision on the spot.

With cheque books in hand, the 50 or so well-heeled investors crossed the causeway to the island, some in their Mercedes-Benzs, BMWs and Jaguars, from as early as 9 am to make their pick of the 19 plots on offer.

After a quick look at the map ands model at the site office for the upmarket resort-style development on the island's eastern coast, the investors hopped on to a jeep, mini-bus or a boat to view the sites.

Of the 14 plots sold yesterday, the smallest at 7,427.1 sq ft fetched $334 psf while the largest at 9,579.88 sq ft was sold for $325 psf.

Seven of the buyers were Singaporeans and the others were an American, a New Zealander, two Indonesians and three Malaysians.     -   4 March 2005     SINGAPORE STRAITS TIMES

Sentosa Cove buyers may get PR deal

The appeal of Sentosa Cove to wealthy foreign property buyers could get a boost soon - if an extension to a permanent residence scheme to woo high net worth investors takes effect.

Under the proposed extension, up to $2 million of the $5 million minimum investment required for the Financial Investor Scheme for Permanent Residence can be invested in a bungalow on Sentosa Cove. The remaining sum of at least $3 million must still be placed in financial assets, however.

The changes are still being finalised.

According to the existing scheme, which took effect late last year, applicants must place at least $5 million in financial assets with financial institutions regulated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Applicants must also have minimum net personal assets of $20 million.

An MAS spokesman yesterday confirmed that details are being finalised for a variation of the scheme to allow a bungalow purchase on Sentosa Cove to form part of the qualifying assets. 'We are working out the details with the Ministry of Trade and Industry,' said the MAS spokesman.

MTI is the parent ministry of Sentosa Development Corporation. The latter, in turn, is the parent of Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd, the master developer that has been selling land in the upmarket waterfront housing district since October 2003.

However, some developers and property market watchers are wondering why bungalows on Sentosa Cove are the only qualifying property assets allowed under the proposed variation of the Financial Investor Scheme.

Market watchers reckoned the authorities' thinking could be similar to the rationale given last year when fast-track approval within 48 hours was introduced for foreigners (including PRs) buying land and landed homes on Sentosa Cove: 'The strategic objective of Sentosa Cove is to attract international talent and high net worth personalities to have a stake in Singapore.'

Elsewhere in Singapore, foreigners including PRs, can only buy such restricted residential property if they have the permission of the Land Dealings (Approval) Unit. Approval is usually granted in about three to five weeks to PRs and foreigners deemed to bring some economic benefit to Singapore. However, under a special channel set up for Sentosa Cove, the approval time has been reduced to two working days.

On learning about the proposed change to the Financial Investor Scheme for PRs which will allow bungalows on Sentosa Cove as a qualifying asset for the minimum $5 million investment, a developer said yesterday: 'I guess they have to start somewhere, and Sentosa Cove is a good starting point. But we hope that the qualifying assets can be extended in the near future to cover terrace houses and condos on Sentosa Cove, as well as to residential properties in the rest of Singapore.'

Another restriction that developers have been lobbying to remove is a measure introduced as part of the May 1996 anti-speculation package - that residential property purchases can no longer form part of the $1.5 million investment that PRs make under the Economic Development Board's Permanent Residents for Investors' Scheme.

That restriction remains, an EDB spokesman confirmed yesterday.

Under the variation to the Financial Investor Scheme for PRs, the Sentosa Cove bungalow purchase can be for land bought directly from SCPL or a completed property bought from developers or subsequently in the resale market.

The minimum five-year holding period under the original scheme announced in November also applies to bungalow purchase on Sentosa Cove. However, applicants granted Singapore citizenship during the five-year retention period will no longer need to comply with the terms and conditions of the scheme.

SCPL began selling land on Sentosa Cove in October 2003. To date, it has sold through tenders two condo plots, four sites for terrace housing, 24 bungalow lots as well as Coral Island, which will be developed into 21 bungalows.

From today, SCPL is selling bungalow plots through private-treaty to broaden its reach to individual investors. When fully developed, Sentosa Cove will have about 300 bungalows, 200 terrace homes and 2,100 condo units. - by Kalpana Rashiwala     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     4 March 2005

The latest land tender for a condominium development at the upmarket residential enclave of Sentosa Cove will be awarded based not only on price, but also on the bidder's architectural design proposal. 

Sentosa Cove to sell land in Private Deals
Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd is stepping up its marketing of land parcels in its namesake waterfront housing district on Singapore's resort island.

It will soon begin selling individual bungalow lots through negotiation on a private treaty basis, in addition to the tender method it has been using since it began selling 99-year leasehold land parcels in late 2003.

And Sentosa Cove is extending the geographical reach of its marketing campaign further afield to places like Japan, China, Taiwan, Australia, the Middle East and Europe.

'The world is our oyster,' said Sentosa Cove chairwoman Jennie Chua in a recent interview with BT.

She also confirmed that private treaty sales will kick off this year, starting with individual bungalow parcels. 'This will open up a new marketplace for us,' she said.

Private treaty deals will speed up land sales on Sentosa Cove as they are typically a faster method of selling property compared with the the more troublesome tender method, say property consultants.

Sales of bigger parcels for terrace housing and condominiums to developers through private treaty is 'not on our radar screen at this point in time', Ms Chua said.

'People who don't want to tender and are not used to the tender system are usually the individuals,' she reasons. 'So the negotiation or private treaty method is for these people. Developers, on the other hand, are comfortable with buying land through tenders.'

However, some analysts say it will only be a natural progression for Sentosa Cove to later extend private treaty deals to larger sites once it has successfully tried and tested the method on smaller plots.

While Sentosa Cove will soon introduce private treaty sales for individual bungalow parcels, it is not abandoning the tender method. The two will operate in parallel fashion, say Sentosa Cove officials.

The tender method serves as a benchmark to establish land values for the various locations on Sentosa Cove. For instance, earlier tenders have helped to establish prices for waterway and seafronting bungalow plots. These will be used as a price guide for the sale of similar, nearby parcels on a private treaty basis in the near future.

Similarly, when Sentosa Cove decides to begin sales of bungalow plots which face the nearby golf courses, the tender method is likely to be used initially to benchmark the value of these sites, while later releases of nearby sites could be negotiated through private treaty.

Sentosa Cove will eventually comprise 2,600 homes that will be built on a 117-hectare stretch of mostly reclaimed land on the eastern coast of Sentosa Island.

To date, about 9 per cent of this land has been sold through tender exercises, the first of which was launched in October 2003. The sites sold to date can generate about 400 homes, comprising condominium units, bungalows and terrace homes.

Initially, Sentosa Cove had concentrated its marketing efforts mainly in Singapore and the region, including Indonesia, Malaysia and Hong Kong.

Recently, it has started to cast its net wider, to places like Japan, Taiwan, Shanghai, Dubai and the Gulf area. Also on the list are Sydney, Melbourne, the UK and Scandinavia.

Sentosa Cove general manager Margaret Goh said DTZ and CB Richard Ellis have been appointed principal agents for some of these markets. 'But it doesn't preclude us talking to other agents,' she added.

Sentosa Cove also showcased its plans earlier this month at the Dubai Property Show, and will be taking part in the MIPIM international real estate fair in Cannes next month. - by Kalpana Rashiwala    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    22 Feb 2005

Sentosa terrace houses set price record

BERTH BY THE COVE
Developer Ho Bee has set a record price for Singapore terrace homes with its Sentosa Cove development. The Berthside, comprising eight terrace homes on Sentosa Island, is going for between $2.2 million and $2.85 million per unit - and buyers have already signed up for seven of them since sales started on Jan 21.

Four of the buyers are foreigners and permanent residents.

There are several good reasons why buyers are paying such prices.

For one, the project is the first of its kind here. There are currently no waterfront-facing terrace homes in mainland Singapore, say property consultants.

In fact, Ho Bee's project marks the first time landed homes are being offered on Sentosa Cove, an upmarket residential district coming up on the eastern coast of Sentosa.

Each of the 99-year leasehold terrace houses at The Berthside comes with a private berth for owners to park their boats.

Secondly, Ho Bee's units are much larger than typical terrace homes on the mainland, said Ho Bee Investment's general manager Chong Hock Chang.

Intermediate terrace units at The Berthside have land areas of 2,300-2,700 sq ft each, compared with typical plot sizes on the mainland of 1,600 to 1,800 sq ft. Built-up areas for Ho Bee's units range from 4,200 to 5,000 sq ft - again larger than the usual 3,000-3,500 sq ft elsewhere in Singapore.

Similarly, corner units at Ho Bee's project come with land areas ranging from 3,200 sq ft to 3,800 sq ft and built-up space of 4,300-5,200 sq ft - surpassing those on the mainland, which usually have a land area of 2,200 to 2,400 sq ft and built-up areas of 3,000 to 3,500 sq ft.

Intermediate units at The Berthside cost $2.2 million to $2.4 million each, while the corner homes are priced between $2.65 million and $2.85 million, said Mr Chong.

Property consultants say the most expensive terrace homes on mainland Singapore available from developers are Far East Organization's freehold homes at The Greenwood, with intermediate terrace units priced at around $2.1 million.

In the 99-year leasehold segment, the highest-priced transaction for a terrace house since 2003 has been at about $1.3 million.

Another strong selling point for Ho Bee's project is that foreigners receive fast-tracked approval, within 48 hours, from the Singapore Land Authority's Land Dealings (Approval) Unit to buy landed properties on Sentosa Cove.

Foreigners, including permanent residents, may buy landed housing, vacant land and apartments in a building of less than six storeys only if they have the LDU's approval.

This approval is usually granted in about three to five weeks to PRs and foreigners deemed to bring some economic benefit to Singapore.

The two foreigners who've bought terrace homes at The Berthside are from Hong Kong and India while the two PR buyers are Malaysians.

Ho Bee has three projects at Sentosa Cove. It is developing a 200-unit condo, The Berth, which it began selling in late November. It has to date sold more than 70 per cent of the project, whose average price has moved from $785 psf to just above $800 psf over the past few months.

The group has also bagged Coral Island, which is one of five islands created at Sentosa Cove. On it, Ho Bee plans to develop 21 bungalows with plot areas ranging anywhere from 6,200 sq ft to 14,000 sq ft.

The luxury homes will have built-up areas of between 5,000 sq ft and 10,000 sq ft.

Prices are expected to start from $4.5 million.

Ho Bee has engaged high-profile Singaporean architect Tan Hock Beng's Maps Design Studio as architect for the project.

It has also roped in internationally-renowned landscape consultant Bill Bensley to do the landscaping for Coral Island's common areas as well as for individual bungalows. The myriad projects which Mr Bensley, an American based in Bangkok, has worked on all over the world include the Four Seasons Hawaii, Sheraton Lagoon Bali, Oberoi Mauritius and Grand Hyatt Istanbul.

Mr Tan has designed a whole portfolio of projects in Singapore and overseas. He bagged awards last year for designing a condo named Casa Grande in Marbella, Spain, and 17 upscale bungalows at Palauea Bay, Hawaii. - 1 Feb 2004     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES

Sentosa's first condo goes on sale today
Ho Bee releases 100 units at Berth by the Cove at average price of $785 psf

Sales of Sentosa's first condominium start today, with the initial release of 100 homes priced at an average of $785 per square foot (psf).

This is expected to rise to above $800 psf when the second phase of the 200-unit project, The Berth by the Cove, is released early next year, said Chua Thian Poh, chairman of developer Ho Bee Group.

He said at a media briefing at a showflat yesterday that the group expects foreigners to take up 30-40 per cent of the waterfront development, gauging from international feedback.

'For the preview, we have set it at a lower price for those who have registered interest,' Mr Chua said, adding that a casino on the island won't affect the condo's target market, partly because any such plan is understood to be part of a high-end resort.

'The second phase should be out at the beginning of next year,' he said. 'And maybe there won't be an official launch, but the average price should rise to above $800 psf.'

Between 10 and 20 potential buyers have already dropped off deposits, he told reporters on the sidelines of the briefing.

Ho Bee paid $110 million last year for the 174,000 sq ft site at Sentosa Cove, the first residential enclave on the tourist isle. Breakeven for the project, which is aimed at upper-end buyers, has been estimated at $640 psf.

Only 2,600 homes, comprising landed and condo units, are allowed at the 117-ha Sentosa Cove development. And according to Ho Bee executive director Ong Chong Hua, this 'scarcity' means The Berth will retain investment value.

Willy Shee, managing director of CB Richard Ellis, one of the marketing agents of the project, reckons The Berth could fetch an above-average rental yield of 4-4.5 per cent.

'The two-bedroom units could fetch $3,000-$4,000 per month, three-bedrooms could go for $4,000-$5,500 while the four-bedroom ones could be about $7,000,' he said.

Going forward, Mr Chua said Ho Bee could release its Mount Sinai project - which has potential for 110 mid-size apartments - next year, while continuing to look out for land in Singapore.

Ho Bee also develops homes in London and Shanghai. - By Vince Chong   SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES  24 Nov 2004

Market estimates $200-220 psf bid for bungalow plot

The latest tender on Sentosa Cove closed yesterday with Ho Bee understood to have emerged as the sole bidder for the en bloc sale of an island plot that can be subdivided into 24 bungalow lots.

Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd did not make any announcement on the outcome of the tender for Coral Island, but market watchers estimated Ho Bee's bid could have been $200-220 per square foot of land area.

This factors in a bulk or en bloc discount of 15 to 20 per cent using a base price of $260 psf.

This was the lower end of the range of prices at which Sentosa Cove has previously awarded 99-year leasehold waterway-facing bungalow plots that were sold individually.

The earlier plots are believed to have been sold primarily to end users.

Analysts pointed out that in formulating its bid, Ho Bee would also have considered the risks involved in developing a high-end product, plus its profit margin.

A bid of $200-220 psf works out to $36.9 million to $40.6 million for the 184,634 sq ft total land area. Assuming Ho Bee develops the maximum 24 bungalows, its average land cost per bungalow would work out to about $1.6 million.

Add  to this construction costs of about $1 million to $1.2 million per unit, the breakeven cost could be about $2.6 million to $2.8 million for a bungalow.

A veteran property consultant estimated a selling price of about $3.25 million to $4 million for a new 99-year bungalow on Sentosa Cove with about 4,500-5,000 sq ft built-up area.

All the bungalows on Coral Island will face the waterway and can have their own private berths for yachts.

Although Sentosa Cove has held a few land tenders for condo, terrace and bungalow parcels, this is the first time Sentosa Cove is offering an entire island for sale.

Coral Island comprises 24 subdivided bungalow lots, although its successful developer may propose a new parcellation scheme - but subject to a maximum of 24 bungalows.

For instance, if there's demand from end-buyers for bungalows set on bigger plots of land to allow more outdoor garden area, the developer could build fewer bungalows.

Market watchers are waiting to see whether Sentosa Cove will award Coral Island to Ho Bee, which is developing a 200-unit condo and eight terrace homes on two parcels that it clinched in a maiden tender at Sentosa Cove which closed last December.

Sentosa Cove expects to make an award within the next two weeks for yesterday's Coral Island tender as well as for 11 bungalow sites in an earlier tender that closed about a month ago, said a spokesman for Sentosa Cove.

Last month's tender also included two terrace plots and a condo site, which have since been awarded.

Sentosa Cove, which will eventually have 2,558 homes, is being pitched as an upscale housing district that will rank internationally alongside Sanctuary Cove on Australia's Gold Coast and Palm Islands Resort in Dubai as prestigious housing districts for high net-worth foreigners.

In August, Sentosa Cove eased rules to attract foreigners to buy landed properties, as well as to draw foreign developers to participate in developing the housing resort.     - by Kalpana Rashiwala    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES     27 Oct 2004

Bid for Sentosa Cove condo site tops $400 psf/plot ratio
Foreign parties from M'sia, China, HK submit tenders for landed sites

The second sale of 99-year residential land parcels in Sentosa Cove has attracted a top bid for a condo plot exceeding $400 psf per plot ratio, according to sources.

This surpasses the $351 psf ppr for the first condo plot sold earlier under last year's maiden tender in the waterfront housing district.

Among the contenders for the latest condo plot - which can be developed into a maximum of 138 homes - are Ho Bee (which bagged the earlier condo parcel), Centrepoint Properties and Sim Lian Group. Property market watchers did not rule out a bid from property giant Far East Organization.

Besides the 117,612 sq ft condo plot, two terrace plots (each of which can be developed into a maximum of eight houses) and 11 bungalow parcels were on offer at the tender which closed at noon yesterday.

The terrace plots are understood to have attracted bids from local developers Ho Bee and Wah Khiaw. The latter had bid unsuccessfully for bungalow and terrace plots in the maiden tender.

Also competing yesterday for both terrace parcels was Malaysian developer IJM Properties, a subsidiary of listed IJM Corporation. The company's executive director Teh Kean Ming told BT this was the company's first attempt at bidding for land in Singapore. 'Sentosa Cove is very unique,' he added. - by Kalpana Rashiwala    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES      29 Sept 2004

World-class facility on Sentosa for mega-yachts by 2005
Owners of multi-million-dollar mega-yachts here will soon have a world-class facility to moor their vessels.

Toasting the deal to build Singapore's first sheltered marina are SUTL group's chairman, Mr Arthur Tay (left), and Sentosa Leisure Group chief executive officer Darrell Metzger. -

Upmarket development Sentosa Cove will be building Singapore's first world-class, purpose-built mega-yacht facility to complement the 2,600 posh bungalows, terrace houses and condominiums that will be built in the enclave.

With the space to berth some 204 vessels, including at least 10 mega-yachts of up to 80m in length, it will also be Singapore's first and only sheltered marina and will have full town-club facilities.

Sentosa Cove yesterday awarded its marina tender to SUTL group, which owns and operates a bowling chain as well as an integrated leisure and entertainment centre called Saigon Superbowl in Vietnam, among other lifestyle and leisure businesses.

SUTL's chairman and managing director, Mr Arthur Tay, projects a $60 million to $100 million investment.

He said the handful of mega-yacht owners in Singapore now prefer to moor elsewhere because there is no world-class facility here. Mega-yachts are typically around 35m to 61m in length and cost at least $20 million.

'The mega-yachts will be able to come in and get fuel pumped directly into the wall of the vessel and the garbage sucked out,' he said. Now, the practice is for a barge to meet them on the open sea.

Raffles Marina has mega-yacht berths, but not the world-class facilities.

The Sentosa Cove marina's first 100 pontoon berths, including 10 for mega-yachts, are expected to be ready by the end of next year.

The clubhouse and marina facilities should be completed by the end of 2007; and the remaining 104 berths by 2009.

The marina tender is for a period of 30 years, with an option to renew for another three.

Its location, as part of Sentosa Cove, is seen as a major draw. 'Around the marina, 8,000 to 10,000 people will be living there. Cafes, restaurants and five-star hotels will be within walking distance,' said the chief executive officer of Sentosa Leisure Group, Mr Darrell Metzger.

'If you put it elsewhere, it is probably not going to work,' he added.

Mr Jykrii Jaamaa, general manager of ship broker and distributor Simpson Marine, said: 'Singapore needs more infrastructure to attract boaters, not just the mega-yachts but also the smaller boats.'

The marina will be SUTL's largest project in Singapore, where it has developed landed homes, said Mr Tay, who owns a yacht.

'It will be a members-driven club but Sentosa is a tourist place so we may let tourists into our restaurants,' he said, adding that they may consider reserving selected berths for clients, for a fee.    - by Joyce Teo     SINGAPORE STRAITS TIMES   30 Sept 2004

125-room hotel for Sentosa

A 125-room hotel will be built near Siloso Beach on Sentosa by the developers of Robertson Quay Hotel, sources have told BT.

They are expected to pump in about $35 million in the low-rise project, which is slated for completion by early 2007.

The outlay excludes the land cost for the 1.25-hectare site, which will be sold with a lease of about 70 years.

Robertson Quay Hotel is controlled by TNT Development, which in turn is owned by Ng Swee Hwa and Law Ngee Hua, according to records with the Accounting & Corporate Regulatory Authority.

The new hotel is expected to be a 3 1/2-star establishment and will bring to four the number of new hotels and resorts that will come up on Sentosa over the next three years.

The other three are a 250-room beach club by NTUC Club Investments, a six-star resort by Pontiac Land and Thailand's City Realty, and the 125-room Amara Sentosa.

The four new properties will boost Sentosa's hotel room count by about 600 to 1,400.

And a few more hotels in the pipeline will increase the supply to 2,000 rooms by 2009. This will serve the increased visitorship that Sentosa is targeting. The supply will also span an entire range of accommodation - from beach clubs and three-star properties to upscale resorts - to cater to the varied visitors which the island resort is hoping to draw.

Sentosa attracted 4.3 million visitors in the financial year ended March 2004, and is aiming to increase this to 8 million by 2012.

Potentially, the biggest draw to Sentosa could be a casino, which could be part of an integrated attraction if the authorities decide to go ahead with the idea.

Sentosa could also get a boost in visitors from the development of VivoCity, Singapore's biggest mall, just across the water at the HarbourFront precinct.

The existing two five-star hotels (Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort and The Sentosa Spa & Resort) and two club-resorts (Sijori Sentosa Resort and NTUC Sentosa Beach Resort) have a total of just under 800 rooms. - by Rashwala Kalpana    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    28 Sept 2004

$60m resort on Sentosa

Amara Holdings will make its first foray into the resort hotel business with a $60 million, 125-room-project on Sentosa that should take the number of hotel rooms on the tourist island close to the 1,000 mark.

This is half of an intended total of 2,000 rooms by 2009, said Darrell Metzger, CEO of Sentosa Leisure Group, the company that is overseeing the multi-billion-dollar makeover of the island.

Another hotel deal, to be announced later, has also been wrapped up with one more local developer, he added at a signing ceremony to mark Amara's investment yesterday.

Amara's project will be Sentosa's sixth hotel, with four or five more in the island's pipeline.

Amara's Sentosa plans follow that of Pontiac Land, which said last November that it is teaming up with Thai partner City Realty to develop a $150 million luxury resort on the island.

There are currently four hotel and resort operations on the island totalling some 800 rooms.

Mr Metzger also revealed that any theme-park deal on Sentosa is yet to be wrapped up, despite an initial mid-year deadline.

This is because relevant authorities are still working on various permutations including a possible Integrated Entertainment Centre comprising both a casino and a theme attraction.

US-based Ripley Entertainment and Australian group Village Roadshow have already made known their interest in developing multi-million-dollar theme attractions on Sentosa.  A 20-hectare spot on the northern waterfront area, near the ferry terminal and former Asian Village, has been slated for this.

Meanwhile, Amara CEO Albert Teo said that while there are no concrete plans yet, the group intends to explore further resort hotel possibilities in destinations such as Phuket and Bali.

Amara is a homegrown lifestyle group engaged in three business areas: hotel investment and management; property investment and development; and specialty restaurants and food services.

To be located in the central area of the tourist island, the upmarket boutique Amara Sentosa - complete with private plunge pools - is scheduled to be opened by 2007.

To be redeveloped on land spanning 2.1 hectares, the project will include revamping four pre-war colonial buildings, two of which have been designated conservation monuments.

Room pricing has yet to be set, Mr Teo said.

'Market dynamics are improving rapidly and we are on track to pull in 7.6 million visitors to Singapore this year, so, it's too early to set a price for now,' he said.

'Also, we are still massaging the figures (for the total number of rooms) as we have yet to get our plans approved by the relevant authorities.' -  9 Sept 2004     SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES 

Land Authority pioneers new sales method - options contract
New approach will help reduce risks for developers of mega projects

The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is breaking new ground with a novel method of selling large land parcels - by options contract.

Exemplifying the new approach is the sale of the site for the Sentosa Cove waterfront project. Under this method, the buyer will pay for the more immediately required part of a huge site upfront - but with an option to buy the rest at a predetermined price within a specified time.

The new sales mode may be offered again for huge land sales in future and should help cut risks for developers of mega projects in Singapore, SLA's deputy chief executive and Commissioner of Lands Vincent Hoong told BT in an interview.

In the case of Sentosa Cove, a waterfront housing district being master-developed on a 117-hectare plot by Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) subsidiary, Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd (SCPL), SDC has paid upfront for only 83 ha in the northern part of the site, called North Cove. However, in exchange for a fee, it has secured an option from the SLA, which it can exercise within three years, to buy the remaining site, called South Cove, at a price which has been fixed. The valuations were done by the Chief Valuer.

As master developer, SCPL is buying the site for Sentosa Cove from SLA; it will then invest a further sum on infrastructure and subdivide the land into smaller parcels for sale.

Today, it launches the maiden sale of 22 land parcels, to be sold on 99-year tenure, for development into condos, terrace homes and bungalows, to developers and individuals.

The options contract method is aimed at reducing risks to developers in undertaking a mega project. 'For future sites involving similar characteristics, that is, large sites, we'll not rule out the possibility of using the option method of payment, even for competitive bidding cases, including the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme, but not for the run-of-the-mill GLS sites,' said SLA's Mr Hoong.

One noteworthy example of a GLS site expected to be sold with flexible payment involving an options contract is the mega Business and Financial Centre (BFC). The 3.5-hectare site, located at Downtown @ Marina Bay, is widely expected to be put up for tender in the first-half of next year. Based on earlier reports, the state plans to give the successful bidder of the site up to 10 years to pay for the entire land parcel in phases using an options contract.

And the developer may be given up to 18 years to complete the huge project, allowing it to time its development according to market demand.

The options contracts mode of paying for state land was recommended last year by the Land Working Group under the Economic Review Committee. The scheme gives developers more flexibility when paying for land and in phasing a huge development according to market demand. It also gives developers greater cashflow control.

However, it also benefits the state, allowing it to fetch a higher price by allowing the buyer to pay for the land in stages instead of upfront in one go, reasoned Mr Hoong. 'If you were to sell something as large as 117 ha, it involves a huge risk to the buyer and if he were to pay for the entire parcel at one go, he will factor in the risk and this might result in a discount to the land premium,' he argued. For Sentosa Cove, SDC has just paid SLA for the North Cove parcel on a 103-year lease. A lease of the same duration for South Cove will kick in only from the date of exercise of the option. Payment for the South Cove will be made at the time of exercising the option, which has to be done within three years.

Neither SLA nor SDC officials would confirm the land premium for the Sentosa Cove site, but BT previously reported this sum as being about $800 million for the entire 117-ha site. With an overall plot ratio of 0.5, the land premium works out to $127 psf of potential gross floor area. This does not take into account SCPL's to-date and future investments in infrastructure on Sentosa Cove, understood to be to the tune of about $250 million.

On how SDC is paying for the land premium, SDC's CEO Darrell Metzger told BT: 'We have interested banks willing to lend us on a short-term basis until we figure out what's the best long-term financing. The best-case scenario is if all goes well and we put up more sites for sale quicker than anticipated and the cashflow comes in, alleviating our long-term financing requirements.'   -  by Kalpana Rashiwala    Singapore Business Times      22 Oct 2003

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The Kwee family's Pontiac Group is in the final stages of negotiations with Sentosa Leisure Group (SLG) to develop a major resort on Sentosa with 120 villas and hotel rooms, sources say.

The group, which owns the Millenia Singapore development in Marina Centre, is said to have its eyes on a plot near Sentosa's Palawan Beach.

Singapore Business Times  understands that the Kwees are talking to two top-notch hotel and resort management chains to run the resort. One party they are said to be talking to is Ritz-Carlton, part of the Marriott International group, which also runs Pontiac's 610-room Ritz-Carlton Millenia Singapore.

The Kwees have two other hotels here. One is the 509-room Conrad Centennial Singapore, also located within Millenia Singapore, and managed by a unit of Hilton Hotels Corporation. The other is the Regent Singapore on Cuscaden Road, a 441-room hotel managed by Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts.

SLG is the former Sentosa Development Corporation, a statutory board responsible for managing and overseeing the development of the southern resort island.

Recent news reports quoted SLG officials as saying that group is at the 'midway' stage of negotiations with international brand-names to set up establishments on the island by early 2006. One is expected to be a five-star set-up near Palawan Beach for upmarket travellers, while the other is expected to be a tourist-category hotel at Palawan beach itself.

Each hotel is expected to bring in up to $100 million in private investment, according to one report.

There are currently two hotels and two club-resorts on the island with a total of just under 800 rooms. The two hotels are Shangri-La's 459-unit Rasa Sentosa Resort and the 214-room The Sentosa Spa & Resort, formerly known as The Beaufort. Like all hotels on the mainland, both Sentosa establishments were hit by the recent Sars outbreak.

However, both are now said to be achieving higher occupancies compared with most hotels on the mainland, thanks mainly to Singaporeans flocking to Sentosa for a quick getaway during the June school holidays.

Last Friday's opening of the HarbourFront MRT Station near Sentosa has also helped to boost visitorship to the island, where entry fees were slashed from $6 to $2 in November last year.

Travel to Sentosa will become even smoother when the Sentosa Express is ready in a few years time. The light-rail system will connect the HarbourFront MRT Station with three stations on Sentosa.

Property developers and investors are also eyeing the island's eastern coast, where the planned Sentosa Cove waterfront housing precinct will be located. SLG subsidiary Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd is said to be looking for a suitable window to begin sales of the first land parcels there. In all, Sentosa Cove will have about 2,600 homes. -  by Kalpana Rashiwala    Singapore Business Times     26 June 2003

$800m tag for Sentosa Cove site: sources

The Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) has finally cleared the major hurdle to the development of its huge, fashionable waterfront housing project on Sentosa island.

Sources say it has agreed with the Singapore Land Authority on the purchase price of the 116-hectare site for the project, paying close to $800 million for a 102-year lease.

SDC, through its subsidiary Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd (SCPL), is the master developer of the project, called Sentosa Cove, and will subdivide the site into smaller parcels for sale to individuals, developers and other parties.

The project will also add to the housing supply in Singapore. When fully completed, Sentosa Cove will have about 2,600 homes - made up of about 300 bungalows, 300 terrace houses and about 2,000 condominium units, based on earlier reports.

According to market watchers, the only key factor now holding back the launch of the Sentosa Cove parcels for sale is the uncertainty from a war in Iraq.

BT understands that SCPL may consider a mix of sites - comprising landed homes and apartments - for the maiden tender of land parcels, which SCPL will launch as soon as it sees a window of opportunity.

Market watchers expect SDC to issue bonds to fund the purchase of the site. The purchase is expected to be done in at least two phases over the next three years or so.

The 102-year lease that the state will grant to SDC for the site means that SCPL should be able to spread out the release of the subdivided plots over a few years and still be able to sell them with 99-year leases. This is also the typical tenure for residential sites sold under the government land sales (GLS) programme.

Depending on the pace at which SCPL sells its land parcels, this source of residential supply will create competition for a range of private housing types here including landed, mid-market and high-end condos. The only segment that would probably be unaffected is the upgrader market, say property agents.

'Maybe it was in anticipation of this new source of land supply that the government decided to continue offering 99-year residential land under the GLS programme for first-half 2003 only through the reserve list,' suggested a senior property consultant.

Disagreement between SLA and SDC on the price of the site - comprising mostly reclaimed land on the eastern side of Sentosa island - had been one of the major factors that had held back the launch of Sentosa Cove parcels for sale.

Based on earlier reports, SLA had offered to sell the site to SDC in early 2000 for about $1.3 billion, or a whopping $500 million more than what SDC was then said to have been prepared to pay.

Earlier last year, word was that the first plots for about 50 bungalow parcels had been slated for sale by tender around the middle of 2002, pending the conclusion of discussions between the SDC and SLA on the land premium.

Although the entire Sentosa Cove site is about 116.5 hectares, the usable area is said to be between 70 and 80 hectares, according to sources.

This works out to about $100 psf of land area. (Plot ratios for the various parcels are expected to range from 0.7 to 2.8, say sources.) However, this is raw land cost and does not include infrastructure and other costs. Based on earlier reports, SDC has already spent about $100 million building infrastructure for the entire site and developing the area around the marina basin. More infrastructure work is expected when parcels are subdivided for sale, including the building of roads, provision of water, electrical and other services for the individual parcels, said market watchers.

Sentosa Cove, to be built in the style of the French Riviera, will have berthing facilities for yachts. However, it will be pitched as a unique brand of resort housing given its proximity to the city.

Said a source: 'With a marina, golf courses in the backyard, and Esplanade Theatres on the Bay a short ride away, it will be a unique development, unmatched from Sydney to New York, and it will take the concept of live, work and play in Singapore to a new level.'

Besides homes and a marina, there are plans later for a hotel on Sentosa Cove, according to earlier reports. -  by Kalpana Rashiwala    Singapore Business Times    11 Feb 2003

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Sentosa, which has come under criticism for its failing attractions and falling visitorship, hopes to draw $5 billion of investments to the resort island over the next 10 years.

This includes $2.5 billion from potential investors for a theme park, beach club, resorts and other new attractions on the island.

All this is expected to be achieved on the back of an ambitious projected doubling of visitors from 3.8 million last year to 8 million in a decade which will see annual revenues generated by visitors rise from $190 million to $900 million during the period.

In a significant move to attract serious leisure investors from around the world, the Sentosa Development Corporation (SDC) is prepared to depart from the traditional civil service tender system of awarding jobs based on the most price competitive bid.

Instead, it will seek out new business models and adopt a more flexible approach to pull in the right types of investors to bring some shine back to the island.

The current $6 admission fee to the island will also be cut to $2 by no later than the start of next year to encourage repeat visits, said SDC chief executive Darrell Metzger yesterday at the launch of a 10-year concept plan to rejuvenate the island, which has received flak in recent months for a slide in appeal to both Singaporeans and tourists.

The 55-year-old, formerly with The Walt Disney Company, Ocean Park in Hongkong, and Atlantis Adventures in Hawaii, was appointed to his current post earlier this year.

The Sentosa Cove waterfront housing project - which will involve sales of land parcels for development - is expected to pull in $2 billion investments to the island, Mr Metzger told BT in a separate interview.

Sales of the first parcels, for bungalow development, are expected to kick off soon.

The remaining $500 million worth of investments on the island will be made by SDC itself, mostly for infrastructure and services, including a new $140 million transportation system to replace the 20-year-old monorail.

The new system will feature an air-conditioned rail system, Sentosa Express, that will be ready by 2005. Starting from the HarbourFront MRT Station at the World Trade Centre, it will have three stops on Sentosa and be complemented by buses and beach trams.

Sentosa Express trains and tracks will be built and designed by Hitachi Asia, which was yesterday awarded a $78 million contract for the job.

SDC property director Gurjit Singh told BT that SDC had conducted eight tender exercises between 1987 and 1995 to award sites on 30-year leases for existing facilities and attractions such as the Asian Village, VolcanoLand and Underwater World to the highest bidders. However, this had tended to attract mostly newcomers to the leisure industry.

'Going forward, we thought we should try a more commercially driven approach to secure focused leisure and business investors for Sentosa.

'We may deal directly with key investors, and we can adopt various business models. For instance, we can discuss the duration of the lease term the investor needs for a site - which will vary according to the facility and business models of individual investors - and he can pay us for granting the lease.

'Or we can do a joint venture with the investor with perhaps SDC providing the land and our partner pumping in money to build and operate the attractions. Or we could take a cut of sales,' said Mr Singh.

The master plan envisages developing Sentosa along three clusters:

An entertainment precinct in the northern part of the island featuring a theme park on a site of up to about 30 ha (currently occupied partly by the now defunct Fantasy Island); a waterfront village, shops, and F&B outlets;

A green zone in the centre of the island that will feature a luxury spa resort set in a heritage building; an Eco Resort and equestrian centre to take advantage of the forested surroundings; and

A southern beach stretch that will see a 4-ha beach club as well as more resorts, hotels and restaurants.

Asked whom SDC was in talks with to invest in the theme park, Mr Metzger ruled out the likes of Disney and Universal Studios as the park will not be a mega project. 'We do not have the land for it.'

He also stressed that if a 'branded operator' from overseas is eventually appointed, it will have to modify its concept to suit the Singapore market and cannot simply use a 'cookie cutter' formula, he added.

BT understands that a themed concept like the Hard Rock beach hotel by Ong Beng Seng's Hotel Properties may be a possible candidate for one of at least two new beach hotels planned.

In all, the plan is to have eight new hotels and resorts with a total of about 2,000 rooms over the next 10 years. The pace of development will be driven by market conditions and growth in visitors to Sentosa. The potential hotel supply will add to the total 700 rooms at its two existing hotels, Beaufort and Shangri-La's Rasa Sentosa Resort. The latter's marketing director Brandon Chan acknowledged the potential competition but said the 'various resorts, with their distinctive concepts, will cater to different niche segments'.

The admission fee cut will cost SDC $8 million in lost revenues for the first year but it hopes this will be made up by an increase in visitors, which, in turn, should boost takings of attractions and F&B outlets, which pay a percentage of sales as rentals.  -By Kalpana Rashiwala   Singapore Straits Times

Sentosa needs a native flavour laced with international creativity if it's to be a theme-park success, says Sentosa Development Corporation's recently-appointed chief executive Darrell Metzger.

'We are looking for operators from a creative standpoint this time around,' he said, explaining changes under the latest master plan. 'Take, for example, ECA2, which will be redesigning the fountain show with local elements thrown in. They are internationally proven.'

Under the 1986 master plan aimed at boosting the island as a local and tourist attraction, site tenders were held to pick attraction operators. While this gave a good indication of land-price benchmarks, it did not rule out inexperienced operators bidding to set up theme parks in Sentosa.

Methods for choosing operators under the latest master plan have not been finalised, but market watchers believe SDC will veer from the straightforward tender system.

Previous attractions included the $60 million Asian Village, whose amusement rides stopped in December, and Fantasy Island, which closed in November.

Mr Metzger, 55, was appointed in February this year to redevelop Sentosa after his successful leading roles at Disneyland and Ocean Park.

Sentosa's musical fountain will be replaced by a $4 million pyrotechnic display dubbed the Dance of Fire and Water Show. This will be put together by French firm ECA2, which produced such shows as the Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios in the US, and the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1998 World Cup in France.

Other new draws that will combine theme-park creativity and local flavour include a maritime-based attraction, which Mr Metzger says will be a joint venture between a New Zealand company and a Singapore firm.

Knight Frank research and consultancy head Tay Kah Poh reckons the Sentosa model could follow similar concepts for retail malls.

'Once the mall's master plan is up, there is a search for the right blend of tenants before rents are negotiated,' he said. 'For Sentosa, such a flexible system, or any profit-sharing schemes, could be better than a tender where the highest bid is taken and locked in for a long period. Such systems put pressure on the operator when times are tough.'

Not all of the older attractions failed, however, with Mr Metzger citing Underwater World and the 20-year-old Butterfly Park and Insect Kingdom museum as worthwhile draws. The latter, oldest of Sentosa's attractions, sees some 500,000 visitors a year, while the former has been the most successful with an annual average of 1.5 million visitors in the past three years.   -     Singapore Straits Times    22 June 2002

INTEGRATED RESORT [IR]

Eighth Wonder says its Sentosa IR design is unique

Eighth Wonder architect Peter Marino believes his design for the proposed Sentosa resort called Harry's Island is 'unique', unlike some of the rival proposals.

'At least one scheme which I have seen, I wouldn't go to visit because I've already seen it in California,' he told Singapore reporters yesterday by video link from New York.

Mr Marino - best known for designing flagship stores for fashion brands Louis Vuitton and Chanel - said Harry's Island would be an 'international attraction', not just a 'local one'.

Design and tourism are strongly connected, according to him. For instance, a new store he created for Louis Vuitton in Paris attracted a million visitors in its first nine months and is ranked the city's seventh most popular tourist destination.

Up to a third of Mr Marino's commissions are from fashion houses. But for Harry's Island, his brief is to design Crown Casino, Crown Towers Hotel and Banyan Tree resort. He sees the Crown Towers Hotel, which appears to have panels detached from the facade, as a flying deck of cards.

'The luxury hotel will be done in the way that I do luxury boutiques,' he said.

Mr Marino also has the distinction of having designed the world's most expensive hotel suite - at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York, costing US$5,000 a night.

Hinting at rates for villas at the Sentosa Banyan Tree resort, he said: 'Let's see if we can top the Four Seasons rates.'

On the casino, Mr Marino said the VIP section, which would make up about a third of the 15,000 sq m casino, could be expected to be built with a 'higher budget'.

At yesterday's media briefing, Mr Marino was backing up Eighth Wonder's chairman Mark Advent, who was in Singapore in person to release new artists' impressions.

Mr Advent stressed that Eighth Wonder's casino would be above ground, unlike those proposed by rivals. 'I would be interested to know what a feng shui specialist would think of that,' he said.

He also said Eighth Wonder's team is due to make two more presentations to the integrated resort assessment panel, on Nov 27 and 29.

Is he confident of winning? 'Many thought Las Vegas Sands did not stand a chance,' he said. 'But lo and behold, who won?' -   SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES    16 November 2006

Marina Bay IR could cost a whopping US$3.1b: Merrill
Lack of global opportunities for casinos expected to fuel high bids

The Marina Bay integrated resort (IR) with casino could be one of the most expensive projects of its kind ever developed - with a price tag of US$3.1 billion. And the Sentosa IR's price won't be very much cheaper - at about US$1.9 billion.

That's according to the latest research note on the development of the Singapore casino scene by US banking giant Merrill Lynch.

The figures estimated by Merrill Lynch include land prices. Pegging it to the recent tender of the Business and Financial Centre (BFC) site at Marina Bay - which, at S$1.8 billion, works out to $381 per square foot of potential gross floor area - Merrill Lynch calculates that the Marina site would cost more than $2 billion.

But it reckons the government won't push IR land prices to such a level because the aim is to maximise long-term tourism, not to make short-term gains. Moreover, the Marina and Sentosa sites are likely to have 60-year leases, versus the BFC's 99-lease.

Still, Merrill Lynch believes the land price at Marina will be US$900 million, while Sentosa's will be US$600 million.

And the 'size, scope and importance of the project is causing the timetable to drift a little', Merrill Lynch analyst Sean Monaghan says in the research note. He thinks the Request for Proposal (RFP) - in which conditions and rules of the tender process will be released to bidders - could be issued in August or September.

But Merrill Lynch believes that this will only be for the Marina site, and that the RFP for Sentosa will be launched separately next year. When contacted, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) said it will reveal details when it launches the RFP this quarter. The RFP will come with a string of conditions, Merrill Lynch says. One could be a two-envelope format, with the first envelope outlining such things as the bidder's architecture plans, its proposal to drive tourism and its ability to address social issues such as problem gambling. From these, Merrill Lynch predicts that the government would shortlist three to five candidates.

In the second envelope, bidders would state the amount they are prepared to pay for the land, with the highest bidder among the shortlisted candidates winning the concession.

Merrill Lynch believes the key strategic point won't be the total bid value but how bidders apportion the total bid. So a bid could technically be lower, but if it gives a higher consideration to the land price, it could beat a higher total bid.

The government could also ask for a bidding deposit of $50 million and require a performance bond from the successful bidder. Merrill Lynch says this could be set at 5 per cent of the total investment. 'The performance bond would be required to ensure that the successful bidder completes the development to the precise specifications agreed to with the government,' Mr Monaghan says.

'The scarcity of new casino opportunities globally, coupled with the economic growth in East Asia, has focused the attention of all the major casino groups on Singapore,' he adds. 'In addition to the issue of scarcity, past bidding history and a company's 'global' status may also be amplifying bidding in Singapore.'

Harrah's Entertainment, which has teamed up with Keppel Land for both IR sites, could 'be driven to bid aggressively in Singapore due to the fact that it has yet to secure a property in Asia', according to Merrill Lynch.

Other companies it considers 'aggressive' bidders are MGM Mirage, which has partnered CapitaLand for the Marina Bay site, and Genting International.

As the size of the investment rises and the competition intensifies, Merrill Lynch says bidders could drop out or others may emerge in the months to come.

It also predicts that each IR will have Ebitda - earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation - margins in the mid-20 per cent range, with casino operations generating 80 per cent of total IR revenue. - by Alexandra Ho    BUSINESS TIMES    27 July 2005

Top CityDev, Sentosa Cove execs trade jobs

August 2005 update:   Jenny Chua became Chair of Sentosa Cove

Its a case of trading places. Assistant general manager and head of marketing at City Developments (CityDev), Margaret Goh (left), is moving to Sentosa Cove as general manager. And Sentosa Cove's former director (sales and marketing) Lee Mei Ling (right) has taken over Ms Goh's job at CityDev.

Both women have a strong background in marketing real estate, particularly the residential sector. Ms Goh has been with CityDev since 1997. Before joining the listed property giant, she was with the Pontiac group. She had also previously worked with Hong Leong Holdings.

Ms Lee has more than 15 years' experience in marketing property. These include about a decade spent at First Capital Corporation (FCC), now known as GuocoLand. Ms Lee left FCC in 2000 as senior marketing manager to join her former boss, Mr Lay Kok Weng, when he moved from FCC to Heshe Holdings' property subsidiary Hinterland Property Development. At Hinterland, Ms Lee was involved with marketing properties in China.

Earlier this year, Ms Lee joined Sentosa Cove Pte Ltd, which has had two sales of sites since last year. Eventually, the upmarket housing district on Sentosa island will have some 2,558 homes.

CityDev, too, has a few major residential launches coming up. It is partnering AIG to develop The Sail@Marina Bay, a freehold condominium with 1,111 apartments. The first phase of at least 200 units is slated for release later this month.

Another major project CityDev is expected to launch by year end is the freehold City Square, linked to the Farrer Park MRT Station. The development comprises a 941-unit freehold condo and a separate 721,000 sq ft retail complex. In its Q2 results statement, the group said the retail component may be sold as retail units or to a real estate investment trust. - by Kalpana Rashiwala    SINGAPORE BUSINESS TIMES   5 Oct 2004

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