Deal falls through for Hin Leong founder's GCB

Caveat of S$27m lodged for the property but sale aborted

Sat, Apr 25, 2020

Janice Heng


THE sale of a good-class bungalow belonging to Lim Oon Kuin (widely known as OK Lim), founder of failed oil trading giant Hin Leong Trading, has fallen through.

On April 14, a caveat of S$27 million was lodged for the GCB in Second Avenue belonging to Mr Lim and his wife, The Edge reported on Thursday.

But Mr Lim's lawyers told The Straits Times that the transaction was not carried out and the sale was aborted.

Sitting on a freehold site on Second Avenue off Bukit Timah Road, the bungalow covers 19,989 sq ft. The price would have translated to S$1,352 per square foot.

The caveat was lodged shortly before HLT applied for a debt moratorium. The oil trader has since withdrawn the application and intends to go into judicial management, The Business Times reported on Thursday.

The Edge noted several other good-class bungalows owned by Mr Lim and his family.

One in Third Avenue, on a 14,575 sq ft freehold site, is jointly owned by him and his sons. Another at Queen Astrid Park off Holland Road, purchased for S$46 million in 2017, is held solely by Mr Lim's wife. And one in Tanglin Villas is owned jointly by Mr Lim and his daughter Lim Huey Ching, a director of HLT.

Privately-held HLT, Asia's largest oil trader, has been crippled by demands from creditors amid the crash in oil prices and the ensuing cash crunch.

As at April 9, HLT's total liabilities were about US$4.05 billion, with assets of about US$714 million.

Police investigations into HLT are also ongoing. According to sources, the probe follows a report lodged by HLT's creditor bank, The Business Times reported on Wednesday.