Frasers Property—controlled by Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi—has bought part of a prime Singapore shopping mall for S$392 million ($310 million), paving the way for future redevelopment amid a property boom in the city-state.
The Singapore-listed developer is buying the rest of the seven-story rear block of its flagship retail complex, The Centrepoint, in the Orchard Road shopping precinct. The deal values the rear block—comprising 66 residential apartments and 66 retail units—at S$2,577 per square foot based on the property’s maximum plot ratio and leasehold top up, according to a statement released Friday.
Prior to this transaction, Frasers Property owned 52% of the rear block, which sits on a 99-year leasehold land with a remaining lease of 52 years. It also owns about 96% of the main mall that’s on a freehold plot fronting Orchard Road. The company also owns 51 Cuppage Road, a 10-storey office building linked to the mall.
“We are pleased to strengthen our ownership of The Centrepoint,” Soon Su Lin, CEO of Frasers Property Singapore said in the statement. “This gives us greater flexibility to unlock the site’s long-term potential, including assessing broader rejuvenation plans for the area.”
The Centrepoint’s rear block occupies a land area of about 44,700 square feet (4,153 square meters) that can be redeveloped into a 10-story building with a maximum gross floor area of 250,320 square feet based on an allowable plot ratio of 5.6, Savills Singapore, which brokered the deal, said in a separate statement. Frasers Property would have to pay an additional S$253.1 million to restore the lease back to 99 years and redevelop the property to the maximum plot ratio., Savills added.
Frasers Property is bolstering its ownership of The Centrepoint amid strong appetite for commercial properties in Singapore. Other property owners are also taking advantage of investor demand. In January, Royal Holdings—controlled by property tycoon Raj Kumar and his son Kishin RK—put up for sale a cluster of shophouses beside The Centrepoint. OUE Commercial REIT—controlled by Indonesian tycoon Mochtar Riady and his family—is also seeking buyers for One Raffles Place, one of the tallest skyscrapers in the Singapore central business district.
With an estimated net worth of $12.2 billion based on Forbes’ real-time data Charoen is among the wealthiest in Thailand. Besides his controlling stake in Frasers Property, he also has interests in Chang Beer maker Thai Beverages, packaging company Berli Jucker as well as Thai property developer Asset World.
