The Tamesis
Centrepoint Shopping Center is located on Orchard Road, Singapore’s main shopping district.
Provided by Frasers Property
Frasers Property—Controlled by Thai billionaires Charun Sirivadanapathy— Purchased part of a prime shopping mall in Singapore for S$392 million ($310 million), paving the way for future redevelopment in the city-state during its real estate boom.
The Singapore-listed developer is buying the remainder of the seven-storey back block of The Centrepoint, its flagship retail complex in the Orchard Road shopping district. The deal values the rear area, which includes 66 residential apartments and 66 retail units, at S$2,577 psf, based on the property’s maximum floor area ratio and leasehold top-up. statement Published on Friday.
Prior to this transaction, Frasers Property owned 52% of the rear site, which is located on a 99-year leasehold site with a remaining term of 52 years. It also owns about 96% of the main shopping mall, which is located on a freehold site fronting Orchard Road. The company also owns 51 Cuppage Road, a 10-storey office building connected to the mall.
“We are pleased to strengthen our ownership of First Place,” Frasers Property Singapore CEO Soon Su Lin said in a statement. “This gives us greater flexibility to unlock the long-term potential of the site, including evaluating broader revitalization plans for the area.”
Savills Singapore, which brokered the deal, said in a separate statement that Centennial’s back block, which occupies about 44,700 sq ft (4,153 sq m), could be redeveloped into a 10-storey building with a maximum gross floor area of 250,320 sq ft and a permitted floor area ratio of 5.6. Savills added that Frasers Property would have to pay an additional S$253.1 million to reinstate the lease to 99 years and redevelop the property to the maximum floor area ratio.
RHB Singapore analyst Vijay Natarajan said the acquisition paves the way for Frasers Property to redevelop The Centrepoint into a mixed-use property in the future, which may include residential, serviced apartments and retail components. “The entire complex may utilize [government] incentives,” he said.
Frasers Property is strengthening its ownership of The Centrepoint amid strong interest in commercial property in Singapore. Other owners are also taking advantage of investor demand. In January, Royal Holdings, controlled by real estate tycoon Raj Kumar and his son Kishin RK, sold a group of shophouses next to Centrepoint. OUE Commercial REIT, controlled by Indonesian tycoon Mochtar Riady and his family, is also seeking a buyer for One Raffles Place, one of the tallest skyscrapers in Singapore’s central business district.
Estimated net worth is $12.2 billion Forbes Live Data Charoen is one of the richest people in Thailand. In addition to his controlling stake in Frasers Property, he also owns interests in Chang Beer maker Thai Beverages, packaging company Berli Jucker and Thai property developer Asset World.
