THE Crown Prince of Johor is seeking to sell a prime Singapore plot, in what is said to be one of the city-state's biggest-ever real estate deals.
Quoting people familiar with the matter, Bloomberg reported that representatives of Tunku Mahkota Johor Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim have approached developers in Singapore and other potential buyers.
The 16.6ha (41 acre) parcel is worth at least S$3.5 billion (US$2.7 billion or RM11.4 billion), according to two separate estimates by local property analysts.
The move comes after Singapore’s government agreed in June to swap plots with Tunku Ismail near the Botanic Gardens, an arrangement that would help ensure that any properties built on Tunku Ismail’s land would be further away from the Unesco World Heritage Site.
Representatives of Tunku Ismail didn’t comment. The Johor royal family’s press office didn’t respond to a request for comment.
Tunku Ismail, the Regent of Malaysia’s southernmost state of Johor, is considering either selling some or all of the land outright or keeping a minority stake in any development, the people said.
Discussions are at an early stage and may not result in a sale, they said.
Past major real estate deals in Singapore include BlackRock Inc’s 2016 sale of Asia Square Tower 1, an office tower in the central business district, to Qatar Investment Authority for S$3.4 billion.
Also that year, a government land auction in Marina Bay fetched S$2.6 billion from a Malaysian group.
The former Farrer Court, an apartment complex also near the Botanic Gardens, sold for S$1.3 billion in 2007, a record for that kind of residential transaction.
Any sale would be a boon to the Johor royal family. The King, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar, is currently serving a five-year term under the country’s unique rotating monarchy. He and his family were worth at least US$5.7 billion (RM24.0 billion) when Bloomberg valued them last year, with their Singapore land accounting for the bulk of the fortune.
For more than a century, the Johor royals owned a parcel of land beside the colonial-era gardens. The area, known as Tyersall Park, inspired the setting of the 2013 novel Crazy Rich Asians, which later became a hit movie. There have been discussions since at least 2020 about transforming the land into a multibillion-dollar luxury residential development., reported Bloomberg.
In the agreement announced in June, two government agencies said Singapore would transfer an 8.5-hectare plot to Tunku Ismail in exchange for him giving up 13 hectares of his estate closest to the gardens. They said the royal “plans to develop his land” and that the plots swapped were of comparable value. The land exchange is expected to be completed this year, local media reported.
The Singapore Land Authority and the city state’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) “are not involved in plans by private property owners”, the two agencies said in a joint response to Bloomberg on Thursday.
“The URA and agencies will assess any development applications and ensure that the proposed development is sensitive to the surrounding site context,” they said. “Prior to the commencement of any works, the development will be subject to environmental studies to mitigate any potential impact on the environment.”
The land is close to many of the city’s priciest luxury real estate properties, some of which are known as good class bungalows and typically fetch tens of millions of dollars. It’s also near the Orchard Road shopping belt.The land also commands a premium because it’s classified as freehold, meaning it can be owned indefinitely, unlike many plots for residential development in Singapore that are leased by the government for fixed terms such as 99 years.
The land is likely to be worth S$3.5 billion, according to local realtor Ku Swee Yong. Nicholas Mak, the chief research officer of property portal Mogul.sg, estimates its value at as much as S$3.8 billion. – September 26, 2024
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