Latest news with #CityDevelopments
Time of India
5 days ago
- Business
- Time of India
Singapore's City Developments to sell office complex stake for $646 million
BENGALURU: Singapore-listed City Developments Ltd said on Wednesday that it will sell its entire 50.1% stake in one of its office complexes in the city-state to Malaysia's IOI Properties for S$834.2 million ($646.37 million). The South Beach complex in a central business district in Singapore includes retail space, a 34-storey office tower, and a 45-storey building housing a JW Marriott Hotel. Upon completion of the deal, expected by the third quarter of the year, IOI Properties will become the sole owner of the commercial components of the South Beach complex, City Developments said in a statement. The deal valued the complex, in which City Developments and IOI have been joint venture partners since 2011, at S$2.75 billion. "This transaction gives a strong boost to CDL's efforts to accelerate capital recycling so as to reduce gearing and redeploy capital," City Developments' CEO Sherman Kwek said. City Developments, one of Singapore's largest property developers, was embroiled in a boardroom tussle earlier this year when its executive chairman, Kwek Leng Beng, accused his son, Sherman Kwek, the company's CEO, of plotting a boardroom coup. However, in March, the company said the executive chairman dropped the lawsuit against his son while adding that both the father and son will remain in their roles. Shares of City Developments rose around 1.6% in early trade before going on a halt. IOI shares were also halted for trade. The shares are expected to resume trading soon.
New Straits Times
6 days ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Singapore's City Developments to sell office complex stake for US$646 million
KUALA LUMPUR: Singapore-listed City Developments Ltd said on Wednesday that it will sell its entire 50.1 per cent stake in one of its office complexes in the city-state to Malaysia's IOI Properties for S$834.2 million (US$646.37 million). The South Beach complex in a central business district in Singapore includes retail space, a 34-storey office tower, and a 45-storey building housing a JW Marriott Hotel. Upon completion of the deal, expected by the third quarter of the year, IOI Properties will become the sole owner of the commercial components of the South Beach complex, City Developments said in a statement. The deal valued the complex, in which City Developments and IOI have been joint venture partners since 2011, at S$2.75 billion. "This transaction gives a strong boost to CDL's efforts to accelerate capital recycling so as to reduce gearing and redeploy capital," City Developments' CEO Sherman Kwek said. City Developments, one of Singapore's largest property developers, was embroiled in a boardroom tussle earlier this year when its executive chairman, Kwek Leng Beng, accused his son, Sherman Kwek, the company's CEO, of plotting a boardroom coup. However, in March, the company said the executive chairman dropped the lawsuit against his son while adding that both the father and son will remain in their roles. Shares of City Developments rose around 1.6 per cent in early trade before going on a halt. IOI shares were also halted for trade. The shares are expected to resume trading soon.
Straits Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Straits Times
Strong bidding for Lakeside Drive site amid uncertain economic outlook seen as vote of confidence
The Lakesite Drive site drew a top bid of $608 million from two subsidiaries of City Developments. PHOTO: LIANHE ZAOBAO SINGAPORE - The state tender for a plot of residential land at Lakeside Drive near the Jurong Lake District closed on June 3 with six bids, in what analysts say is a vote of confidence by developers in private housing demand, especially at sites in established housing estates and near MRT stations. The Government Land Sales (GLS) site, which is expected to offer 575 units and 1,000 sq m of commercial space, drew a top bid of $608 million from two subsidiaries of City Developments. This translates to a land rate of $1,132 psf ppr (per square foot per plot ratio). The strong interest from developers for the Lakeside Drive plot comes after a Media Circle (Parcel B) site drew no bids on April 29 and a Lentor Gardens site drew a mere two bids on April 3. Both these earlier tenders had led analysts to question if developers had turned cautious, given an increasingly uncertain macro-economic outlook. Tariff-related disruptions and turmoil have already caused the Government to revise down Singapore's 2025 GDP growth forecasts, and analysts are watching how the changing global trading environment will affect the economy and, in turn, the housing market. The industry is waiting to see how the GLS programme – the mechanism through which the state releases land for development by the private sector – will be calibrated to deal with the projected downturn. In previous financial crises, the GLS programme was temporarily suspended in a bid to curtail housing supply – as was the case during 1998 and 1999 during the Asian financial crisis, with the exception of some sites. The Government only resumed releasing sites from 2000 when the market showed signs of recovery, said real estate veteran Bond Lam Chern Woon. Mr Lam, who was former head of research and consulting at Edmund Tie, pointed out that the Government took a similar approach in 2008 and 2009 during the global financial crisis. He added that during the pandemic, GLS sites were launched as scheduled in 2020, but the average tender period (from tender launch to tender close) was noticeably longer compared with that in the pre-pandemic years. This timeframe was about 4.5 months for GLS sites launched from 2020 to 2022, compared with 2.7 months from 2017 to 2019. 'The policy intent of the extended tender periods was to grant developers more leeway to assess market conditions,' Mr Lam said. Will the Government adopt similar measures with the GLS programme this time? Analysts believe an outright suspension of the GLS programme is unlikely because the authorities will likely have to continue to prime sites for new homes, due to the need to supply land to meet housing demand. Furthermore, domestic demand for new non-landed homes continues to be supported for now. On the private property front, housing supply from the GLS programme will be raised to 8,505 units in the first half of 2025, up from 8,140 units in the second half of 2024. PropNex chief executive officer Ismail Gafoor pointed out that the unsold stock of uncompleted private homes, excluding executive condominiums, is much lower now than in previous crises – so there is much less risk of the market crashing because of an oversupply. There were 18,125 such units in the first quarter of 2025, compared with 29,149 units in first quarter 2020 when the pandemic struck, and around 43,000 units in 2008 during the global financial crisis, he said. In the case of Media Circle Parcel B, while this was the second time in about a year where no bids were received for a GLS site, analysts said this could be attributed to site-specific factors including a lack of HDB upgraders and amenities near the site in the one-North precinct. The lacklustre launch in April of the nearby Bloomsbury Residences was also a signal to developers of softer housing demand. However, the better-than-expected bidding interest for the Lakeside Drive site indicates that developers may be saving their bullets for more choice sites. These include those in new housing precincts in Bukit Timah Turf City and the former Keppel Golf Course; Chuan Grove and a mixed-use site in Hougang Central, both of which are close to an MRT station. Developers favoured sites like Lakeside Drive for its ready pool of HDB upgraders from nearby Bukit Batok, Jurong East and West housing estates, and proximity to a substantial industrial employment zone in Boon Lay, Jurong, Pioneer and Tuas. That said, analysts point out that healthy housing demand is contingent on there not being significant job losses and that household balance sheets remain strong. Mr Edwin Loo, real estate consultancy Cistri's associate director, said: 'If current events end up being a trigger for slower income growth and job creation, we can expect demand for private housing to begin to soften gradually.' In such a scenario, he pointed out that buyers who are on the cusp of affording private property are likely to 'act conservatively and opt for the HDB resale market, rather than the lower rungs of the private housing market'. Mr Loo, a former urban planning team lead at the Urban Redevelopment Authority, also said the tariff-related economic instability would affect 'project feasibility assumptions made by private residential developers, especially around potential sale prices, interest rates, and development costs'. He added that he believes the Government is likely 'actively considering a range of economic scenarios' and evaluating how they would impact household incomes, household formation and demand for housing across various price points across the public and private market. Whether that will lead to more state land being alloted for public housing and executive condominiums would bear watching. Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
Business Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Business Times
CDL places S$1,132 psf ppr top bid for plot next to Lakeside MRT station
[SINGAPORE] City Developments has placed the top bid for a 99-year leasehold site next to Lakeside MRT station in the Jurong West area. Its bid of S$608 million, which works out to about S$1,132 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), was the highest of six bids received for the site at a state tender that closed on Tuesday (Jun 3). The plot, in Lakeside Drive, is zoned residential with commercial at first storey. It can be developed to a maximum gross floor area (GFA) of 537,065 sq ft. The plot can yield about 575 private homes. The commercial component is capped at 10,764 sq ft GFA, of which a minimum 7,535 sq ft has to be for supermarket use. The second-highest bid at the tender, from a partnership between Frasers Property and Mitsubishi Estate, came in at S$550.56 million (or S$1,025 psf ppr). Also bidding for the site was a tie-up between units of CapitaLand Development and Sing Holdings, which offered S$529 million or S$985 psf ppr. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up Wee Hur Development bid S$938 psf ppr. Intrepid Investments and TID Residential offered S$922 psf ppr. The lowest bid, from Sim Lian Land and Sim Lian Development, was S$909 psf ppr. The plot is a stone's throw from Jurong Lake Gardens; it is also near schools such as Rulang Primary School, Shuqun Primary School, Yuhua Secondary School and Yuan Ching Secondary School.
Straits Times
20-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
CDL posts $1.9 billion in Q1 sales revenue in Singapore property development
Overall, the revenue translates to an increase of 85 per cent in volume and 155 per cent in sales value. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI SINGAPORE - Property developer City Developments (CDL) posted sales revenue of $1.9 billion for its property development segment in the Singapore market in the first quarter of 2025, driven by the launch of its joint venture condominium project, The Orie, in Toa Payoh. Overall, the revenue translates to an increase of 85 per cent in volume and 155 per cent in sales value, said the group in its operational update on May 20 for the quarter ended March 31. The group said that its other projects continue to register good sales including Lumina Grand, its executive condominium project in Bukit Batok, and The Myst at Upper Bukit Timah Road. In the United Kingdom, the group has obtained approval for a £1.1 billion (S$1.9 billion) residential-led mixed-use scheme in south-west London. In China, the group's wholly owned subsidiary registered a total sales value of 179.5 million yuan (S$33.2 million) from its sale of 86 residential, office and retail units. Office portfolio For its Singapore office portfolio, the group achieved a committed occupancy rate of 97.2 per cent, driven by high occupancy rates in South Beach, City House and King's Centre. All three of the group's wholly owned office assets recorded positive rental reversions. The majority of the expiring office leases for the year have also been renewed and negotiations for expiring leases in 2026 have commenced. On other hand, the group's office portfolio in China registered a committed occupancy of 52.7 per cent. The group said this reflected challenges in the office market and that it is actively pursuing opportunities to optimise its portfolio and exploring alignment with government-supported sectors. Hotel operations In the first quarter, Singapore hotels experienced a 16.7 per cent year-on-year decline in revenue per available room, or RevPar, to $153.70, due to lower average room rate and occupancy. The softer performance was partly attributed to a high base effect from several major events last year, such as the Taylor Swift concert in March 2024, which boosted visitor arrivals. In contrast, the rest of Asia saw a 7.9 per cent increase of its RevPar in Q1 compared with a year ago to $114. The increase was led by Taipei's strong performance in average room rate and occupancy, and improved occupancy at other South-east Asia hotels such as Manila and Jakarta. In its other markets, Australasia hotels saw its RevPar go up 10.9 per cent in the first quarter compared with a year ago, while Europe hotels saw a 7.4 per cent increase in RevPar over the same period. For its Singapore retail portfolio, the group registered a committed occupancy of 96.2 per cent for the first quarter. The group attributed this to strong tenant retention and resilient assets. Debt profile The group said it had a healthy debt expiry profile as at March 31. Its net gearing ratio stands at 72 per cent, and its interest cover is at 1.4 times. The group maintains 'strong' cash reserves of $2 billion and a 'robust' liquidity position with $3.8 billion in cash and available undrawn committed bank facilities. It added that despite concerns over macroeconomic uncertainties such as inflation and trade tensions, it is cautiously optimistic about the resilience of the property sector, given its diversified portfolio across geographies and asset classes. The counter ended $0.02 or 0.4 per cent lower at $4.73 before the announcement on May 20. THE BUSINESS TIMES Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
