News

Haidilao Co-Founder Reportedly Bought Lee Kuan Yew’s Daughter’s House for $50 Million

2022-09-17 , 12:33 pm

Apparently, getting the property in the Cluny Hill good-class bungalow (GCB) area for $50 million is actually a steal. Here’s why.

Haidilao Co-Founder Bought LKY’s Daughter’s Property

The transfer of ownership from Dr Lee Wei Ling, daughter of the late Lee Kuan Yew, to Haidilao’s co-founder Shi Yonghong happened on 6 September for $50 million.

Mr Shi Yonghong is also the chairman of Yihai International Holding, which is spun off from Haidilao International. He is also a director of at least 10 Singapore-incorporated firms, many of which surround the Haidilao family brands.

This Cluny Hill GCB is in the neighbourhood of fellow Haidilao co-founder and chairman Zhang Yong’s Gallop Road GCB. Additionally, one could easily walk from the properties to Singapore Botanic Gardens.

Bought for $2,740/sq ft, But Property Could Sell At Up To $4,000/sq ft

The 18,255 square feet of property, when sold at $50 million, means that it was sold at $2,740 per square feet (psf).

However, properties in the Cluny Hill GCB area could sell between $3,000 to $4,000psf. This depends on the condition of the property, the land size, and whether it can be subdivided.

This means that buying the property at $50 million is actually considered cheap. This might be because the property is on downward-sloping land, which opposes the normal preference for properties on elevated ground.

Yes, problems that we HDB people can never understand.

Can Redevelop to Bring Property Value Up to $60 Million

Mr Shi could invest in the redevelopment of the property for about $10 million, which could bring the value of the property to at least $60 million. This would mean about $3,300psf, guaranteeing a profit in line with the market.

For comparison, the last huge GCB transaction in the Cluny Hill area was at $63.7 million in April 2021 by local entrepreneur Tommy Ong. This translates to about $4,291psf for the freehold bungalow.

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Drop in Transactions for GCBs

There have been 37 GCB deals worth a total of $939.97 million since January 2022. In contrast, there were 73 deals totalling $2.14 billion in the same time period last year.

This drop in transactions could be attributed to more cautious market sentiments, especially in view of volatile energy and food prices and the risk of a recession. Additionally, there seem to be fewer bungalows put up for sale.