http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/real...r-compensation
Jurong Country Club to appeal for higher compensation
By Wong Kai Yi
[email protected]
@WongKaiYiBT
Mar 3, 2016
JURONG Country Club (JCC) is to appeal for higher compensation than the S$89.8 million awarded to it by the government, which is acquiring its site.
At an Extraordinary General Meeting on Jan 20, JCC members authorised the general committee to retain the services of real-estate consultancy Knight Frank and law firm Rajah & Tann for the purposes of lodging an appeal.
JCC had submitted a claim for S$168 million to the Collector of Land Revenue last Nov 25, believing the claim to reflect the true value of its land. The figure was based on research by Knight Frank.
But the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) awarded the club half that value.
In a statement issued on March 2, club president Bobby Wee said: "We have always made clear that we understand and accept the issue of national priorities, which, in this case involves the sacrifice of our Club's land and facilities for the High-Speed Rail project.
"Our concern is simply to ensure that our members are fairly compensated for their losses."
The S$89.8 million works out to roughly S$33,000 per JCC member. Going by information available, the club has 2,700 members, many of whom say they bought their memberships at a much higher price.
At a membership launch several years ago, the club is believed to have sold new memberships at around S$55,000 each.
If the club's asking price is met, each member would get S$62,000.
In a statement, the club's general committee explained to its members that the club's claim was calculated using the Income Method, which factored the value of existing memberships plus the loss of future revenue.
The club said that its claim for a higher valuation was "strongly justified for a number of reasons, which will be tabled when the Appeal is heard".
The High-Speed Rail project was announced in a 2013 joint press conference by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Malaysia's Prime Minister Najib Razak. Jurong East was chosen as the Singapore terminus for the Singapore-to-Kuala Lumpur rail line, in keeping with plans to transform Jurong East into a second Central Business District.
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