A mansion sitting on a sprawling plot of land in Singapore has been sold for a record S$230 million, the latest in a string of eye-catching property deals in the country.
The home on Nassim Road was sold by Winright Investment, whose listed shareholders are tycoon Cheng Wai Keung – chairman of developer Wing Tai Holdings, and his wife, according to business and property records reviewed by Reuters.
The 85,000 sq ft plot – rare in land-starved Singapore – is near the Orchard Road shopping belt, the UNESCO-listed Botanic Gardens and where British inventor James Dyson is set to buy his second lavish Singapore property.
Cheng declined to comment via Wing Tai. Records show that the property was transferred to SG Casa, a firm offering trustee and fiduciary services, on Jul 4.
Citing sources, Business Times said the firm was linked to Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin, a Singapore resident. Reuters was unable to reach Saverin for comment.
The sale has set a record for a Singapore home in terms of the total transacted price, said Christine Li, head of Singapore and Southeast Asia research at property services firm Cushman and Wakefield.
The deal adds to a recent spate of luxury property transactions, including Dyson’s purchase of Singapore’s priciest penthouse at S$73.8 million. He was recently granted approval by the Government to purchase a second property, which was marketed at about S$45 million.
Real estate prices in Singapore have staged a recovery in recent months, and Chinese investors have been leading a return of foreigners to the safe-haven market despite hefty levies.
In July last year, Singapore intensified property curbs in a bid to cool the market after a 9.1 per cent annual increase in home prices and as developers paid record amounts to buy land.
Foreigners now have to pay levies of more than 20 per cent to buy property in Singapore under the new rules, although citizens and permanent residents pay far lower taxes.