Shun Tak Exits $557m High Point En Bloc Sale

Chinese developer Shun Tak Holdings has reportedly withdrawn from its acquisition of the freehold High Point condominium less than a month after it announced the purchase on the 9th Dec 2021.

Shun Tak High Point Collective Sale:

In Friday’s (24th Dec 2021) Business Times, it was reported that Shun Tak had forfeited its one million dollars tender deposit. Last week the Government announced a slew of property cooling measures that may have affected the cancelled deal.

High Point was acquired by Shun Tak High Point, Shun Tak’s wholly owned subsidiary on Dec 9 for S$556.7 million.

A total of five properties were acquired in downtown Singapore by the group in the past 5 years.

Located in the heart of downtown District 9 at 30 Mount Elizabeth, High Point consists of around 47,606 square feet of site area and around 226,815 square feet of maximum gross floor area.

In a statement, Savills stated that the land price for High Point was around $2,537 per sq ft per plot ratio (psf ppr), including an 18 million-dollar development charge. As of July 2018, that price was the highest per square foot per plot ratio price for a land plot in Singapore’s history and the 3rd-highest in this metric.

The 12th round of property cooling measures on Dec 16, 2021 prompted Shun Tak to withdraw from the deal.

On Dec 16, 2021, Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rates increased by 5% to 15% for all entities but this does not apply to Permanent Residents and Singapore Citizens who make their first residential property purchase.

In addition, ABSDs for residential developers have been raised to 35 percent from 25 percent. Developers who fail to complete their projects and sell all their units within five years of their acquisition of the land will be liable for 35 percent ABSD with interest. Developers also pay an ABSD of 5 per cent that is non-remittable.

Moving forward, developers will definitely be more careful with which building they en bloc.