Guocoland Partners Interested Persons in River Valley En Bloc
GuocoLand Limited wishes to announce that its wholly-owned subsidiary, GuocoLand (Singapore) Pte. Ltd. (“GLS”), partners Intrepid Investments Pte. Ltd. (“Intrepid”) and Hong Realty (Private) Limited (“HR”) have successfully tendered for the en bloc acquisition of the Pacific Mansion condominium site.
The freehold condominium located at River Valley Close has a total land area of 11,924 sqm and a plot ratio of 3.84.The 288-units freehold condominium built in 1976 is located at a prime District 9 and within walking distance to the upcoming Great World MRT Station due to complete in 2021. The Great World City shopping mall managed by AllGreen Properties is set to undergo a massive make over to take advantage of the rejuvenation of Kim Seng Corridor.
The development site is situated along the slope which gives it a commanding view of Singapore River, Kim Seng Road and Orchard Road, with the higher floor units with unblocked view towards the Marina Bay. The development enjoys close proximity to Orchard Shopping Belt and Somerset Road, making it ideal for a luxury themed condominium. District 9 freehold properties are the traditional hotspots which appeal to international buyers from China, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Details of the en bloc site are as follows:
- Address : 8,16,24 & 32 River Valley Close
- Tenure : Freehold
- Site Area : 11,924.30 sqm (128,352 sqft)
- Plot Ratio : 3.84
- Allowable Development : Residential
- District : 09
The consideration of S$980 million was concluded at following internal valuation which is carried out in the normal course of their business.
Details of Partnership in Pacific Mansion En Bloc
The agreed proportion of the interest holdings between GLS, Intrepid and HR in the Property are 40%, 40% and 20% respectively.
For the purpose of the acquisition of Pacific Mansion, all three holdings companies entered into a memorandum of general agreement (“MOGA”). Pursuant to the terms of the MOGA, the terms of joint venture, rights and obligations of every participating company in the joint venture for the acquisition, development and dealing of the Property will be borne by the Parties in accordance to their respective interest holding.
Intrepid is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Leong Holdings Limited (“HLHL”) which is in turn a subsidiary of Hong Leong Investment Holdings Pte. Ltd. (“HLIH”) and HR is also a subsidiary of HLIH. As HLIH is a deemed substantial shareholder of GuocoLand, Intrepid and HR would be regarded as interested persons within the meaning of Rule 904(4) of the Listing Manual of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited.
The Audit and Risk Committee, having reviewed the transaction which is an interested person transaction, is of the view that the risks and rewards of the joint venture based on the terms of the MOGA are borne by each joint venture partner in their Agreed Proportion and the terms of the joint venture as set out in the MOGA are fair and reasonable to the interests of its shareholders.
Recent Property Developments by GuocoLand
The acquisition can benefit from the experience amassed in another GuocoLand nearby development Martin Modern which is a new Singapore condo for sale launched in mid 2017. The Martin Place site was acquired by First Bedok Land Pte Ltd in the Government Land Sales 2016 which was a record bid at that time.
The launch of Martin Modern has witnessed strong interest amongst international property buyers during its early stages of preview. The highly popular 3 Bedrooms units were the fastest to sell out as investors seek a balance between investment and own stay.
The Martin Modern is also situated on a sloped terrain and the architects have cleverly used the geographical attributes to create a natural basement carpark. The architects also designed Martin Modern on an elevated ground for increased privacy and better views of the city skyline.
One of the distinct feature is the absence of the bay windows and planter boxes which are commonly seen in those earlier developments that completed in the mid to late 2000. This has inadvertently caused the bedrooms in the older developments to be smaller due to the unusable space.
The recently completed Guoco Tower in Tanjong Pagar is a testament to the quality that the company upholds in their company’s mission. The ultra luxury penthouse in Wallich Residences recently made the news headline with its $100 million asking price.
The top level of the ultra luxury penthouse is designed with a total of 5 bedrooms, 6 full bathrooms and 3 guest bathrooms spanning over 21,000 square feet of private space. The Wallich Residences Penthouse comes with a private pool and pool deck area, cabana, jacuzzi room, entertainment area and a cantilevered balcony with panoramic views of the Marina Bay and Sentosa.
It has a private lift access and private lobby but does not come with designated parking spaces. The penthouse sits atop the highest building in Singapore and enjoys direct connectivity to the Tanjong Pagar MRT Interchange.
The price of new condo in Singapore may continue to rise in view of the en bloc fever this two years as the land cost has been locked in. As en bloc may wither off when the gap widens between sellers and buyers, the developers may turn to URA land sales to replenish their land bank in the following years.
The entering into the MOGA and joint venture in Pacific Mansion en bloc will not have material effect on the net tangible assets per share or earnings per share for Guocoland Group current financial year ending 30 June 2018.