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Business Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Wing Tai unveils Hong Kong CBD mixed-use development joint venture with CSI Properties
[SINGAPORE] Real estate developer Wing Tai announced its joint venture with Hong Kong-listed CSI Properties, a mixed-use development in the Hong Kong central business district set to be complete in mid-2026. Named Central Crossing, the 433,000-square feet (sq ft) development will be situated at the city's cultural and lifestyle hub and connected to its key business and financial institutions, said Wing Tai said on Tuesday (Jul 22). As a Grade A office development built on a heritage site, it aims to embrace the local heritage and historical features of the area that date back to 1880, while providing a new addition to the city's urban landscape, said the property developer. Located at 118 Wellington Street in the Central district of Hong Kong, it will integrate Grade A offices, a bespoke lifestyle hub, green open spaces and heritage preservation features. The project will feature a dual tower structure, comprising a 28-storey office tower with some 10,600 sq ft of gross floor area and a luxury international hotel tower. Both towers will be positioned to align with the city's historic urban grid. Commercial spaces will be located at the bases of the towers alongside a four-storey water wall that defines the main entrance of the hotel, Wing Tai said. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up The development will be linked to transport hubs through a central walkway system and situated close to restaurants, bars and historic attractions such as Tai Kwun, PMQ and Central Market. It will also feature new pedestrian routes that allow people to cross the site at multiple levels and access the surrounding streets. Designed by architecture firm Foster + Partners, Central Crossing is a project under Hong Kong's Urban Renewal Authority. Wing Tai and CSI Properties won the contract to develop the site from the authority in late 2017.
Business Times
22-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Wing Tai unveils Hong Kong CDB mixed-use development joint venture with CSI Properties
[SINGAPORE] Real estate developer Wing Tai announced its joint venture with Hong Kong-listed CSI Properties, a mixed-use development in the Hong Kong central business district set to be complete in mid-2026. Named Central Crossing, the 433,000-square feet (sq ft) development will be situated at the city's cultural and lifestyle hub and connected to its key business and financial institutions, said Wing Tai said on Tuesday (Jul 22). As a Grade A office development built on a heritage site, it aims to embrace the local heritage and historical features of the area that date back to 1880, while providing a new addition to the city's urban landscape, said the property developer. Located at 118 Wellington Street in the Central district of Hong Kong, it will integrate Grade A offices, a bespoke lifestyle hub, green open spaces and heritage preservation features. The project will feature a dual tower structure, comprising a 28-storey office tower with some 10,600 sq ft of gross floor area and a luxury international hotel tower. Both towers will be positioned to align with the city's historic urban grid. Commercial spaces will be located at the bases of the towers alongside a four-storey water wall that defines the main entrance of the hotel, Wing Tai said. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up The development will be linked to transport hubs through a central walkway system and situated close to restaurants, bars and historic attractions such as Tai Kwun, PMQ and Central Market. It will also feature new pedestrian routes that allow people to cross the site at multiple levels and access the surrounding streets. Designed by architecture firm Foster + Partners, Central Crossing is a project under Hong Kong's Urban Renewal Authority. Wing Tai and CSI Properties won the contract to develop the site from the authority in late 2017.
Business Times
14-07-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Two River Valley area projects – River Green and Promenade Peak – begin previews this week
[SINGAPORE] Two new condominium projects in the River Valley enclave, Wing Tai's River Green and Allgreen Properties' Promenade Peak, will start previews this week. The two are the first launches coming out of a cluster of four government land sale sites tendered in the area. Prices at River Green will start from S$2,846 per square foot (psf). Located near Great World MRT and linked to the station, the 99-year leasehold condo has 524 units in a 36-storey block. Pricing for the prime District 9 condo will start from S$1.2 million for a 420 sq ft one-bedroom unit. Two-bedders, sized from 527 sq ft, will go from S$1.5 million, while three-bedders (786 to 883 sq ft) are priced from S$2.25 million. The largest units, with four-bedrooms, will start from S$2.8 million for a 980 sq ft unit. The project has 105 one-bedroom, 280 two-bedroom, 104 three-bedroom and 35 four-bedroom units. Edmund Cheng, Wing Tai Holdings' deputy chairman, said: 'We are confident that River Green will meet the evolving expectations of today's homebuyers, offering not just homes of exceptional quality, but a lifestyle that's both dynamic and holistic for years to come.' The project will be the first residential development in Singapore to achieve the Building and Construction Authority (BCA) Green Mark Platinum (Super Low Energy) certification. When asked about pricing strategy as several other launches in the River Valley area hit the market at the same time, Stacey Ow Yeong, Wing Tai Property Management's head of marketing, said: 'I think it's important for the buyers to see what they want. All of us have our own unique selling points. For us, we sell full connectivity. We sell flexible living. We sell functional, efficient and compact layouts, leading to very affordable prices.' A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up Market watchers noted that River Green's pricing, on a total quantum level, is a shade below selling prices of Toa Payoh project The Orie. The Rest of Central Region (RCR) condo, with prices starting at S$1.28 million for one-bedders, sold 86 per cent of its 777 units at an average of S$2,704 psf in January. River Green starts booking sales on Aug 2. Wing Tai Holdings acquired the 9,291 sq m site that River Green sits on for S$464 million (S$1,325 psf ppr) in a state land tender in June 2024. A month later, Allgreen bid S$730.09 million (S$1,304 psf ppr) for the 9,286 sq m Zion Road site where Promenade Peak is coming up. Just across the Singapore River, Promenade Peak will also start booking sales on Aug 2, at prices around S$3,000 psf, according to market sources. The project, with a District 3 address, has 596 units in a 63-storey block. It will be the world's tallest prefabricated prefinished volumetric construction (PPVC) residential building, and will feature the highest infinity pool in Singapore. The unit mix will include 80 one-bedroom units sized at 527 sq ft; 320 two-bedroom units sized between 657 and 797 sq ft; 118 three-bedroom units sized between 1,033 and 1,195 sq ft; 57 four-bedroom units sized between 1,421 and 1,582 sq ft; and 19 five-bedroom units spanning 1,884 sq ft each. There are also two 4,144 sq ft penthouses on the 63rd floor. Next to the Allgreen development, City Developments Ltd (CDL) and Mitsui Fudosan are building Zyon Grand, a mixed-use integrated development directly connected to Havelock MRT station. The project will comprise two 62-storey residential towers with 706 condo units, a 36-storey tower with 376 serviced apartments and a retail podium. It is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter. CDL and Mitsui Fudosan acquired the site in April 2024 for slightly over S$1.1 billion (S$1,202 psf ppr). A fourth condo is being developed by GuocoLand, on a River Valley Green site acquired at a February tender for S$627.8 million (S$1,420 psf ppr). A fifth site is available under the GLS reserve list. Altogether, the five sites could bring 3,080 new homes into the area, said Christine Sun, chief researcher and strategist of Realion Group. Nearby at Robertson Quay, Frasers Property and Sekisui House will book sales for The Robertson Opus this Saturday (Jul 19) with prices starting from S$3,150 psf. The 999-year mixed-use development comprising 348 homes is a redevelopment of Fraser Place Robertson Walk and its adjoining commercial area, Robertson Walk. 'Given the steeper competition, most developers will likely price their projects sensitively to attract consumers,' Sun said.
Business Times
05-05-2025
- Business
- Business Times
Wing Tai's Amara foray may not help its own minorities
[SINGAPORE] Minority shareholders of hotel and property group Amara Holdings who did not accept an earlier offer by Amethyst Assets, which closed in early 2024, have reason to cheer. Last week, Amara's minority investors received a far superior voluntary conditional general offer at S$0.895 per share from DRC Investments, compared with the S$0.60 per share offer proposed in 2024. However, should minority shareholders of local-listed Wing Tai Holdings be cheering its participation as part of the consortium trying to privatise Amara? I think not. DRC is 35 per cent held by a fund sponsored by formerly Singapore-listed Hwa Hong and Malaysia-based Newfields. Another 35 per cent shareholder is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wing Tai. Wing Tai's managing director and substantial shareholder Cheng Wai Keung's spouse Helen Chow is an indirect substantial shareholder of Hwa Hong. Their son Kelvin Cheng is an indirect substantial shareholder in the group owning the manager of the Hwa Hong-Newfields fund that is investing in DRC. Albert Teo, Amara's chairman and chief executive officer and his daughter chief operating officer Dawn Teo, hold the remaining 30 per cent of DRC. A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU Tuesday, 12 pm Property Insights Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond. Sign Up Sign Up DRC's offer price represents a premium of 27 per cent over Amara's closing price of S$0.705 on Apr 23 before the company called for a trading halt the following day and a premium of 42.1 per cent to the volume-weighted average price for the one-month prior to the trading halt. The offer price also represents a 33 per cent premium to Amara's end-2024 net asset value (NAV) per share of S$0.673. However, DRC is likely not silly in paying a premium to NAV. Amara's end-2024 NAV is based on holding its hotels, namely the 389-room Amara Singapore in Tanjong Pagar, 140-room Amara Sanctuary Resort Sentosa, 343-room Amara Shanghai and 250-room Amara Bangkok, under property, plant and equipment at historical cost. Depreciation is charged to the assets, as are costs needed to bring an asset to operate in the way intended by management. In its evaluation of Amethyst's offer for Amara, Xandar Capital said Amara's end-June 2023 revalued NAV (RNAV) per share was around S$1.25 or 87 per cent above Amara's end-June 2023 NAV per share. The key contributor to the difference between RNAV and NAV was mark-to-market valuations of the hotels. Xandar Capital was the independent financial adviser to the directors of Amara, considered independent with regards to Amethyst's offer. Amethyst is a consortium linked to Teo and family, and private equity investor Dymon Asia. Wing Tai Perhaps, Wing Tai's board and top management sees the S$0.895 price per Amara share as attractive, given the latter's updated RNAV may exceed its latest NAV. Maybe, Wing Tai wants to grow its recurrent income by having ownership interests in Amara's hotels as well as its investment properties. After all, property development profits are lumpy, its margins in Singapore are thin and home buying sentiment might be uncertain given a weaker economic outlook. As at end-2024, Amara owned investment properties worth S$385.4 million, based on fair market values. Key assets include 100 AM in Tanjong Pagar and in Shanghai – both of which have a mix of retail, office and car park spaces. Might Wing Tai see potential to redevelop the Tanjong Pagar site which houses Amara Singapore and 100 AM into a new mixed-use development, possibly with higher gross floor area? But, it may not make sense for Wing Tai to buy into Amara at a large premium to NAV when Wing Tai itself is trading far below NAV. Wing Tai's investment in Amara is likely to get marked down by the market substantially, assuming Wing Tai continues to trade at a deep discount to NAV. As at May 2, Wing Tai traded at a discount of 70 per cent to its end-2024 NAV per share of S$3.91. Sure, Wing Tai is not alone among Singapore-listed property groups for trading at a large discount to NAV. For one, its trading liquidity is poor. Based on latest corporate filings, Cheng Wai Keung's direct and deemed interest in Wing Tai amounts to about 61.7 per cent. Critically, Wing Tai's recent financial performance has been dismal. It made losses for the financial year ended Jun 30, 2024. The latest NAV per share of S$3.91 is down by 9.5 per cent versus that of S$4.32 as at Jun 30, 2022. For the half year ended Dec 31, 2024, Wing Tai reported profit attributable to equity holders of S$10.1 million. Based on annualising the said profit and end-2024's equity attributable to equity holders of nearly S$3 billion, return on equity would be around 0.7 per cent – hardly tempting to investors. Perhaps, what Wing Tai's board and management should prioritise is improving the financial performance and ownership structure of its various assets. For example, can the group become more asset light and recycle capital more efficiently? Is the group being dragged down by its investment in Hong Kong-listed Wing Tai Properties? Should the group exit its retail business in Singapore and Malaysia? Property mergers Regarding Amara, what might better serve Wing Tai's minority shareholders is for it to merge with Amara through an exchange of shares. A merger will help Wing Tai bring in new shareholders and raise its number of shares outstanding, which may in turn drive better trading liquidity. While government-led efforts are ongoing to strengthen the competitiveness of Singapore's equities market, undervalued property-linked listed groups are exiting the local bourse. To support equities market development, mid-size listed property and/or hotel groups should consider merging. Potential mergers involving groups such as Bonvests Holding , Far East Orchard , Metro Holdings , OUE and Tuan Sing Holdings to create greater scale and generate better trading liquidity can help drive potential share price re-rating. Ultimately, Wing Tai's Amara foray will cheer Amara's minority shareholders but do little to help its own minority shareholders. Wing Tai's board needs to act urgently to improve the group's financial performance and craft an investment story that is fit-for-purpose. The writer holds shares in Wing Tai
