In terms of outrageously expensive purchases made this year, one of the top prizes has to go to the Singapore Permanent Resident who bought the 30th floor of Suntec City Tower 2 for a whopping $38.8 million.
Just when you thought that was crazy, another rich fellow sweeps in to buy the 604-square-metre coffee shop at Block 201 Tampines Street 21 for $41,682,168.
This might be the second time I’m seeing this price figure this week, but it’s still no less impressive.
Who is The Mysterious Buyer?
The last coffee shop that was sold at a high price was located at Block 155 Bukit Batok Street 11, exchanging hands at a price of $31 million in 2015.
Having said that, who is this rich and mysterious buyer that decided to buyout the largest coffee shop in the area?
According to 8world News, the property was purchased by G&G (21) Pte Ltd.
The company director, Kiong Tai Weng, happens to be the owner of a coffee shop chain called 7 Stars as well.
Besides that, he also owns U Star supermarkets and the popular Hong Kong Zhen Zi food court.
From his property assets, it’s evident that he’s deeply entrenched in the Food & Beverages industry.
His newest purchase, the Gong Xi 21 Food Court, covers an area of 604 square metre and holds 18 stalls. It still has 76 years on its lease.
The price it was sold for is 12 times its original price of $3,451,200 in February 1997.
Regardless of how much foot traffic the sizable coffee shop receives, it is still a huge sum of money to pay for the coffee shop.
As a matter of fact, its price of $41.6million–or $6,964 price per square foot—is comparable to the prices of retail spaces along the busy central business and shopping district of Orchard Road.
Of course, being a businessman, Mr Kiong naturally wants to breakeven the sunk costs as soon as possible.
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To The Detriment of Hawkers
Unfortunately, the fact that it fetched such a high price came at the detriment of the stall owners.
A number of hawkers are considering pulling out their business because the rental prices have doubled since the new owner came into power.
For one hawker who still wishes to remain anonymous, divulged to 8world News reporters that her rent has increased from $6,000 to $9,000.
The original rent that the new landlord wanted was actually $10,000, and it was only after extensive negotiations that she managed to shave off $1,000.
Nonetheless, she laments the change in ownership because she has never experienced such drastic hikes in rental prices in her 23 years of operation under the previous landlord.
While she’s reluctant to give up on the business she painstakingly built over two decades, the option is within her books if she’s unable to bear the higher costs in the next six months.
Another hawker, who wants to be known as Jacquelyn, had no qualms telling The Straits Times that the rent for her stall, Kumamoto Ramen, has doubled $5,000 to approximately $10,000.
The price hike is honestly brutal for a small business, yeesh.
Currently, she’s struggling to make ends’ meet; her stall is making losses and she had to let two of her workers go because she couldn’t afford to hire them.
Like many of the other hawkers, she’s thinking of “pulling out” as well.
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Featured Image: 8world News
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