Ong Beng Seng's HPL looks to cut stakes in Forum shopping mall, voco Orchard hotel: Sources
SINGAPORE – The property firm of embattled billionaire Ong Beng Seng is looking to reduce its stakes in two marquee assets along Singapore's Orchard Road shopping strip, according to people familiar with the matter.
Hotel Properties Ltd. (HPL) is in talks to sell majority stakes in the Forum shopping mall, as well as the voco Orchard hotel, according to the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private matters.
HPL is seeking a deal that would value the two adjacent assets for at least $2 billion, they said.
A spokesperson for Singapore-listed HPL declined to comment. The firm has interests in more than 40 hotels across the globe including the Four Seasons in Singapore, as well as resorts in the Maldives.
Ong, 79, has been in the spotlight in the last couple of years after being implicated in a scandal that led to the imprisonment of a senior politician in Singapore. Ong has indicated he
plans to plead guilty on Aug 4 after being charged in 2024 for abetting former Transport Minister S. Iswaran over two flights and a night's stay at the Four Seasons in Doha. It's unclear whether the case has any relation to the firm's planned asset sales.
HPL won provisional permission from authorities in August 2023 to redevelop the two sites, along with its company headquarters, HPL House. That was part of a government plan to rejuvenate the Orchard Road shopping district by allowing developers to seek more space or change of use for older buildings.
The company intends to keep its ownership of HPL House under the potential sale, the people said. It said earlier this year in its annual report that redevelopment plans are 'being refined for submission to the relevant authorities.'
In April,
Ong relinquished his decades-long tenure as managing director of HPL. Two long-time executives replaced him, after he cited a desire to devote more time to his medical issues. But he continues to provide 'strategic oversight and direction' to the firm. Together with his wife Christina, the Malaysian tycoon controls HPL with a roughly 60 per cent stake. The next largest shareholder is Hong Kong billionaire Peter Woo.
The Forum mall is valued at about $990 million, group executive director Christopher Lim said at the company's annual meeting in April. That estimate doesn't account for the redevelopment. He declined to comment on the value of the voco, formerly the Hilton Singapore, saying the company didn't have a valuation for it.
HPL is set to gain full ownership in August of the Concorde, an $821 million shopping mall and hotel complex on Orchard Road, after buying out minority stakes it didn't own.
The company's stock has soared 46 per cent this year, almost four times the gain in Singapore's Straits Times Index. It was trading up 1.5 per cent, or eight cents, at $5.29 as at 10.15am on July 29. BLOOMBERG
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CNA
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A homesick craving inspired her to launch a Singaporean supper club and food brand in London
It was a comforting bowl of bak chor mee (minced meat noodle) that changed it all. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Megan Tan was living in London and working as a finance lawyer. With the city in lockdown, her homesick roommate was craving local Singaporean food. 'It was her birthday and we couldn't go anywhere. I wanted to do something thoughtful for her, so I asked her what her favourite dish was. It was bak chor mee, so I Googled a recipe and made it for the first time,' Tan, 30, recalled. That simple act of cooking for a friend was enough to spark a realisation in Tan for two reasons. 'First, it was the feeling of making something with my own two hands. And second, it was making something that I love so much, and that she loved so much too, and the joy that it brought to the both of us.' In fact, Tan enjoyed the experience of cooking for others so much that for the rest of the lockdown, she started opening up orders for dishes such as wonton mee, Hokkien mee and carrot cake on her Instagram. During the weekends, she would cook the dishes and cycle out to deliver them herself. 'I had a lot of fun and I think it gave me a lot of meaning and human connection at a time when it was very short in supply,' Tan, a self-professed extrovert, reflected. Eventually, she launched Homi Kitchen, a supper club run out of her apartment where she serves Singaporean dishes to guests. What started as a nostalgic dinner for her social bubble soon evolved into something bigger. Beyond the supper club, Tan is on a mission to create a brand that can make 'Singaporean flavours easily accessible on supermarket shelves for everyone in the UK', said the young entrepreneur. 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Stepping into entrepreneurship is 'unfamiliar territory' for her family, who do not come from a business background. While her parents were initially worried she was making a rash decision, they supported her wholeheartedly. Tan makes regular trips back to Singapore to spend time with her family. Her go-to dish when she's home? A comforting bowl of bak chor mee. Back in London, Tan continues to host supper club sessions while developing new products for Homi Kitchen. In June, she hosted two sold-out events in collaboration with Hong Kong milk tea brand Chadong. On the menu were dishes such as Hei Hei Pepper Pork Belly, Hainanese Chicken Rice and Popiah, while Chadong contributed milk bread prawn toast, lychee and lime granita and Hong Kong French toast ice cream bars. Despite the uncertainties that lie with entrepreneurship, Tan has found a sense of purpose in building something of her own. 'Whatever the outcome, I can say that I already find this journey meaningful,' she reflected. 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Straits Times
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LTA, Singapore bus operators reviewing Malaysia's request to start services from JB at 4am
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Commuters queue to board the Causeway Link bus to Johor Bahru on April 9. SINGAPORE – The Land Transport Authority (LTA) and Singapore bus operators are reviewing a request from Malaysia to start operating cross-border bus services from Johor Bahru an hour earlier. LTA told The Straits Times on July 29 that it had received a request from Malaysia's Land Public Transport Agency on June 17 to start operating cross-border bus services earlier and that it is 'working with our bus operators to review the request'. These operators are public bus companies SBS Transit (SBST) and SMRT and some private bus operators. Malaysian news daily The Star said on July 24 that the Land Public Transport Agency is in talks with LTA to ask Singapore's bus operators to start services at 4am, instead of 5am. According to The Star, Johor state Works, Transportation, Infrastructure and Communication Committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh said long queues of Singapore-bound passengers would form at the Johor Bahru Checkpoint at 4am, so he hopes that an earlier start time would tackle the pre-dawn rush. SBST currently operates service 160 from Johor Bahru Checkpoint, with departures starting at 5am on weekdays and 5.50am on weekends or public holidays. It also runs service 170 between Larkin Terminal in Johor Bahru and Queen Street Terminal near Jalan Besar, with departures starting from 5.20am on weekdays and 5.30am on weekends or public holidays. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw names 6 law firms taken to task over involvement in property deals Singapore Police reopen access to all areas in Marina Bay after crowd congestion eases at NDP Preview area Singapore Opening of Woodlands Health has eased load on KTPH, sets standard for future hospitals: Ong Ye Kung Asia KTM plans new passenger rail service in Johor Bahru to manage higher footfall expected from RTS Singapore HSA investigating teen allegedly vaping on MRT train Asia 4 workers dead after falling into manhole in Japan Singapore New vehicular bridge connecting Punggol Central and Seletar Link to open on Aug 3 Singapore New S'pore jobs portal launched for North West District residents looking for work near home Service 170X – a supplementary service that plies only a section of service 170's route – is also run by SBST, with the first bus leaving Johor Bahru at 8.28am on weekdays. Additionally, SMRT operates service 950 across the Causeway from Johor Bahru Checkpoint towards the Woodlands Temporary Bus Interchange. No information on the starting times for its Singapore-bound service is publicly available, but the Johor Bahru-bound service departs from Woodlands at 5.30am every day. Other private bus operators, including Singapore-Johore Express, Ridewell Travel and Transtar Travel, ply routes from Larkin Bus Terminal and Johor Bahru Checkpoint to Singapore. ST has contacted all public and private bus operators for comment. SMRT and SBST directed these queries to LTA. Associate Professor Walter Theseira, a transport economist at the Singapore University of Social Sciences, said it may be more costly and logistically challenging to operate cross-border bus services outside the usual scheduled hours. This is because public bus operators face labour constraints, he added. It would be more difficult to offer services at earlier start times as drivers may not want to accept these shifts, and it would affect manpower planning for the rest of the day. And these operational constraints may lead to higher fares, noted Prof Theseira, since buses operating outside scheduled hours are typically expected to cover a larger share of costs from fares – as in the case of the now-defunct late-night bus services, which charged higher fares of above $4. He noted that there may also be concerns from Singaporeans about providing more subsidies so that public transport operators can start their cross-border services earlier because they would primarily benefit Malaysians working in Singapore. While private operators can also adjust the operating hours of such services, he said they must be able to make profits to offer extended services. Malaysians who cross the Causeway daily to get to work in Singapore, such as Mr Eerman Dzulkurnai, 39, said he would be happy to have potentially more cross-border bus services to use as he typically gets to Johor Bahru Checkpoint by around 4am to avoid getting stuck in traffic and be able to arrive at his workplace in Pioneer by 9am. The information technology support officer noted that by 6am, there are usually snaking queues, and it can take travellers one hour to squeeze onto a bus to Singapore. He added that early on the morning of July 21, when bus drivers under Malaysian bus operator Causeway Link went on strike, he was left with no choice but to walk 30 minutes across the Causeway.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
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Ong Beng Seng to plead guilty on Aug 4, more than 2 years after trip to Qatar with Iswaran
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox Billionaire Ong Beng Seng was charged on Oct 4, 2024, with allegedly abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts and abetting the obstruction of justice. SINGAPORE – It was discovered by chance in May 2023, as the Corrupt Practices Investigation Bureau (CPIB) was probing a separate matter. Investigators found the manifest of a private plane while looking into associates of property tycoon Ong Beng Seng, who owned the aircraft. One name stood out in particular – Mr S. Iswaran's. He was a close friend of Ong's, with the pair going back about two decades. The two men had travelled together on Dec 10, 2022, after the then Transport Minister accepted the billionaire's invitation for an all-expenses-paid trip to Qatar. They flew there on the private plane, with Mr Iswaran returning the next day on a business-class flight. The trip sparked a separate investigation by CPIB, which eventually led to the conviction on Oct 3, 2024, of a former Cabinet minister, a first in Singapore. After several hearing adjournments, and more than two years after the discovery of the flight manifest, Ong is finally slated to plead guilty on Aug 4 to abetment of obstruction of justice, a charge related to the trip. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore $3b money laundering case: MinLaw names 6 law firms taken to task over involvement in property deals Singapore Police reopen access to all areas in Marina Bay after crowd congestion eases at NDP Preview area Singapore Opening of Woodlands Health has eased load on KTPH, sets standard for future hospitals: Ong Ye Kung Asia KTM plans new passenger rail service in Johor Bahru to manage higher footfall expected from RTS Singapore HSA investigating teen allegedly vaping on MRT train Asia 4 workers dead after falling into manhole in Japan Singapore New vehicular bridge connecting Punggol Central and Seletar Link to open on Aug 3 Singapore New S'pore jobs portal launched for North West District residents looking for work near home The 79-year-old businessman had earlier indicated that he will consent to having a second charge – of abetting a public servant in obtaining gifts – taken into consideration for sentencing. Prosecutors will claim that it was Ong who allegedly alerted Mr Iswaran to the fact that CPIB had seized the flight manifest. It was this alert which led to Mr Iswaran, 63, requesting a bill for the $5,700 business-class flight from Doha to Singapore on Dec 11, 2022. At Mr Iswaran's sentencing, prosecutors pointed out that the bill was sent out only around May 25, 2023, more than five months after the trip. More than friends Ong, a Singapore permanent resident who was born in Teluk Intan, Malaysia, had amassed his wealth through ventures in the hospitality, property and retail sectors. His wife – Ms Christina Fu – is a prominent businesswoman. Ong set up Hotel Properties Limited (HPL) in 1980 and went on to acquire a number of hotels around the world, and properties in prime locations such as Orchard Road. He was also the majority shareholder of Singapore GP, and the man who brought Formula One (F1) to Singapore in 2008 – the first night race in the sport's history. In 2022, he was involved in a contract between Singapore GP and the Singapore Tourism Board, a statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Mr Iswaran was then chairman of the F1 steering committee. In December 2022, Ong had allegedly extended an invitation by the chairman of the Qatar World Cup organising committee to Mr Iswaran. The tycoon is said to have told his friend that he would go on the trip as his guest. He said he would take care of all expenses, including hotel accommodation. Mr Iswaran then applied for urgent leave and flew to Doha on the hotelier's private jet. He stayed at the Four Seasons Hotel, with Ong allegedly picking up the tab. Mr Iswaran did not pay for his flight to Doha or the hotel stay, and did not declare them to the Government. In sentencing Mr Iswaran, Justice Vincent Hoong described Ong as cultivating goodwill when offering gifts to and acceding to requests from Mr Iswaran for various items, including tickets for football matches. Ong and Mr Iswaran were arrested on the same day on July 11, 2023. The former Cabinet minister eventually was handed a jail term of 12 months after he pleaded guilty to five charges , including four for obtaining valuable items as a public servant, an offence under Section 165 of the Penal Code. The offence penalises public servants who obtain or accept gifts, or attempt to do so, from an individual with whom the public servant has official dealings without necessarily giving or doing anything in return. Mr Iswaran, who admitted to obtaining items worth more than $400,000 from Ong and Mr David Lum, managing director of construction company Lum Chang Holdings, became the first person to be convicted of the offence since Singapore's independence. Ong was first supposed to plead guilty on April 2 this year , but this was postponed after his lawyers asked for an extension to obtain his medical report. The businessman has multiple myeloma, which is a type of blood cancer affecting the bone marrow predominantly and is characterised by excessive multiplication of a type of white blood cells called plasma cells. During earlier proceedings, he was allowed by the court to go abroad for medical and work purposes. This included permission to travel to the US, Britain and Italy from April 28 to May 16. On April 14 in an exchange filing, HPL said that Ong will step down as its managing director at the close of the company's annual general meeting on April 29, with the tycoon indicating he wanted to devote more time to managing his medical conditions. A court date was then set for him to plead guilty on July 3, but this was rescheduled one day before the hearing as the prosecution and defence needed more time to file further submissions on sentencing. Ong is expected to be represented on Aug 4 by a team of lawyers including Senior Counsel Cavinder Bull, the chief executive officer of Drew & Napier. The case will be heard by Principal District Judge Lee Lit Cheng. If convicted of obstruction of justice, Ong can be jailed for up to seven years, fined or both.
