New Reporter
03-07-23, 11:34
About Kingsford Group, the top bidder for the Marina South state land site
Jun 30, 2023
AS THE state land tender for three 99-year leasehold sites closed on Tuesday (Jun 27), one developer stood out with its bids. Kingsford Group was the top bidder for a site at Marina South with a S$1.03 billion offer, and it had also bid for an executive condominium (EC) site in Tengah. Here is some background about the group and its developments.
1. What is Kingsford Group and what does it do?
Kingsford Group has real estate operations in China and Australia, with a focus on residential and commercial properties. The group, helmed by Chinese-national-turned Singaporean Cui Zhengfeng, incorporated its subsidiary Kingsford Development – also known as Kingsford Huray Development – in Singapore in 2011.
Kingsford Development is engaged in various businesses such as real estate development, property management and manufacturing, based on its website.
2. Which projects has it bid for recently?
Kingsford submitted bids for two 99-year leasehold sites, for which the tender closed on Tuesday. Its bid of S$1.03 billion, or about S$1,402 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), was the highest for the first state land site offered in the new Marina South precinct. The site can yield about 790 private homes as well as commercial space on the first floor.
Kingsford’s bid was 42.3 per cent greater than the second-highest bid of S$985 psf ppr. The company had also put in a bid for an EC site at Plantation Close in Tengah, which can yield about 500 homes and is located between two upcoming MRT stations on the Jurong Region Line.
On Jul 5, 2022, buyers related to Kingsford and developer MCC Singapore made a controversial purchase of 99-year leasehold condominium Chuan Park via private treaty for S$890 million. Some minority Chuan Park owners had filed objections to the Strata Titles Boards, claiming that the condominium’s collective sales committee (CSC) and marketing agent ERA Realty failed to disclose material information about a higher development baseline for the property.
They alleged this translated into a “deep discount” for the buyers, as the sale price was 5.1 per cent lower than the S$938 million reserve price. The High Court eventually granted the sales order on May 26, 2023, as it ruled that there was no evidence the deal was not arrived at in good faith by the property’s CSC.
3. What are its developments in Singapore?
According to the company website, Kingsford Development started its first Singapore property development in 2012 with Kingsford Hillview Peak, a 512-unit condominium at Hillview Avenue. In 2018, it completed Kingsford Waterbay, a residential development at Upper Serangoon View with a 1,165-unit condominium, retail shops, and a childcare centre.
More recently, the real estate developer added Normanton Park, a residential development comprising a 1,862-unit condominium with retail offerings, to its portfolio.
4. What is its track record?
Kingsford Huray had purchased Normanton Park in October 2017 for S$830.1 million, in one of Singapore’s largest en bloc purchases at the time. In January 2019, the developer was barred from selling units until a Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) was issued, although construction could begin.
The no-sale licence for the project issued by the Controller of Housing (COH) came after the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) found that the developer’s earlier project, Kingsford Waterbay, had failed to meet requirements under the Building Control Act and Regulations for works on features such as windows, barriers and common storey shelters. Feedback about poor construction work from buyers of Kingsford Hillview Peak was also taken into account.
In December 2017, the developer was ordered to stop work on Kingsford Waterbay until it finished rectification works. Separately, in July 2017, it was fined S$130,000 under the Workplace Safety and Health Act for repeated safety lapses at its Hillview Peak worksite.
Normanton Park eventually opened for public preview on Jan 2, 2021, after the no-sale ban was lifted, with conditions tied to the sale of the units, to protect homebuyers’ interests. All 1,862 units were sold by July 2022. When the project was first launched in 2021, about 555 units were sold at a median price of S$1,760 per square foot (psf). Units sold in 2022 transacted at a median price of $1,868 psf.
One of the sale-licence conditions imposed was that all the units must pass the BCA’s Quality Mark assessment, which measures the workmanship quality in every unit, before Kingsford can apply for a TOP.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/about-kingsford-group-top-bidder-marina-south-state-land-site
Jun 30, 2023
AS THE state land tender for three 99-year leasehold sites closed on Tuesday (Jun 27), one developer stood out with its bids. Kingsford Group was the top bidder for a site at Marina South with a S$1.03 billion offer, and it had also bid for an executive condominium (EC) site in Tengah. Here is some background about the group and its developments.
1. What is Kingsford Group and what does it do?
Kingsford Group has real estate operations in China and Australia, with a focus on residential and commercial properties. The group, helmed by Chinese-national-turned Singaporean Cui Zhengfeng, incorporated its subsidiary Kingsford Development – also known as Kingsford Huray Development – in Singapore in 2011.
Kingsford Development is engaged in various businesses such as real estate development, property management and manufacturing, based on its website.
2. Which projects has it bid for recently?
Kingsford submitted bids for two 99-year leasehold sites, for which the tender closed on Tuesday. Its bid of S$1.03 billion, or about S$1,402 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr), was the highest for the first state land site offered in the new Marina South precinct. The site can yield about 790 private homes as well as commercial space on the first floor.
Kingsford’s bid was 42.3 per cent greater than the second-highest bid of S$985 psf ppr. The company had also put in a bid for an EC site at Plantation Close in Tengah, which can yield about 500 homes and is located between two upcoming MRT stations on the Jurong Region Line.
On Jul 5, 2022, buyers related to Kingsford and developer MCC Singapore made a controversial purchase of 99-year leasehold condominium Chuan Park via private treaty for S$890 million. Some minority Chuan Park owners had filed objections to the Strata Titles Boards, claiming that the condominium’s collective sales committee (CSC) and marketing agent ERA Realty failed to disclose material information about a higher development baseline for the property.
They alleged this translated into a “deep discount” for the buyers, as the sale price was 5.1 per cent lower than the S$938 million reserve price. The High Court eventually granted the sales order on May 26, 2023, as it ruled that there was no evidence the deal was not arrived at in good faith by the property’s CSC.
3. What are its developments in Singapore?
According to the company website, Kingsford Development started its first Singapore property development in 2012 with Kingsford Hillview Peak, a 512-unit condominium at Hillview Avenue. In 2018, it completed Kingsford Waterbay, a residential development at Upper Serangoon View with a 1,165-unit condominium, retail shops, and a childcare centre.
More recently, the real estate developer added Normanton Park, a residential development comprising a 1,862-unit condominium with retail offerings, to its portfolio.
4. What is its track record?
Kingsford Huray had purchased Normanton Park in October 2017 for S$830.1 million, in one of Singapore’s largest en bloc purchases at the time. In January 2019, the developer was barred from selling units until a Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) was issued, although construction could begin.
The no-sale licence for the project issued by the Controller of Housing (COH) came after the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) found that the developer’s earlier project, Kingsford Waterbay, had failed to meet requirements under the Building Control Act and Regulations for works on features such as windows, barriers and common storey shelters. Feedback about poor construction work from buyers of Kingsford Hillview Peak was also taken into account.
In December 2017, the developer was ordered to stop work on Kingsford Waterbay until it finished rectification works. Separately, in July 2017, it was fined S$130,000 under the Workplace Safety and Health Act for repeated safety lapses at its Hillview Peak worksite.
Normanton Park eventually opened for public preview on Jan 2, 2021, after the no-sale ban was lifted, with conditions tied to the sale of the units, to protect homebuyers’ interests. All 1,862 units were sold by July 2022. When the project was first launched in 2021, about 555 units were sold at a median price of S$1,760 per square foot (psf). Units sold in 2022 transacted at a median price of $1,868 psf.
One of the sale-licence conditions imposed was that all the units must pass the BCA’s Quality Mark assessment, which measures the workmanship quality in every unit, before Kingsford can apply for a TOP.
https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/property/about-kingsford-group-top-bidder-marina-south-state-land-site