IOI Properties unit buys Singapore land for condo project

An artist’s impression of the Seaview Collection condominiums

PETALING JAYA: IOI Properties (S) Pte Ltd (IOIP), a wholly owned unit of IOI Properties Bhd, together with its joint venture partner, Ho Bee Investment Ltd, have successfully tendered for a 5.3-acre land parcel in Singapore’s Sentosa Cove, for S$1.097bil cash.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, IOI Properties said a new joint venture company, Pinnacle (Sentosa) Pte Ltd, which is 65%-owned by IOI Properties, had been set up to acquire the land and undertake its development into an upmarket condominium project.

The 99-year leasehold land parcel under the Pinnacle Collection has a maximum permissible gross plot ratio of 2.6.

The site would have a condominium of up to 20 storeys, the tallest building in Sentosa Cove. The maximum number of units allowed in the development is 357, while the maximum permissible gross floor area is 602,359 sq ft.

When completed, the project will offer panoramic views of the South China Sea, the Southern Islands, Tanjong golf course and the city skyline.

The site is the final piece of condominium land to be launched by Sentosa Cove. Pinnacle Collection is one of the two condominium parcels flanking the entrance of the marina leading into Sentosa Cove.

Ho Bee is also the joint-venture partner of IOIP for the successful tender and acquisition in March last year of a 3.6-acre parcel under the Seaview Collection in Sentosa Cove.

A luxury condominium development comprising two eight-storey apartment blocks of 151 units of various sizes is being planned on the site, and sales are expected to commence in the first half of the year.

A company spokesman said the two developments in Sentosa Cove would start contributing to IOI Properties from the next financial year ending June 30, 2009.

He said the designs for the Pinnacle condominiums were still being finalised. The residences would have an average built-up area of 2,000 sq ft.

Going by the existing market price of between S$2,000 and S$3,000 per sq ft for recent condominium projects in Singapore, the Pinnacle Collection project can expect to generate a gross development value of close to S$2bil while the Seaview project will gross around S$1.25bil.

In the statement, IOI Properties said Singapore was chosen as a platform for the group’s regional diversification as properties in the republic were presently one of the most sought after in the region.

“Our association with luxury landmark developments in Sentosa Cove will enhance the IOI Properties brand name and reputation as a luxury quality homes developer not only in Malaysia and Singapore, but also in the larger South-East Asia region,” it added.

By The Star (by Angie Ng)