Sale Ok Lims Gcb Tanglin Hill Brings Total Raised Assets Seized 9909 Mil
Former Geylang Lor 3 shophouse on sale for $23 mil The GCB at Tanglin Hill is the latest from Lim’s assets to be sold as a result of the Hin Leong scandal. According to the Straits Times in an article dated August 19, the family has, to date, paid back “nearly US$280 million”, which includes the three-bungalow sale, says Lim’s lawyer, Tan Rajah & Cheah’s managing partner Vijay Kumar.
Lim Oon Kuin, also known as OK Lim, a convicted oil tycoon, recently sold his third Good Class Bungalow (GCB) at 1K Tanglin Hill for $39.2 million ($2,507 psf) on August 16. The buyers of the property, according to a property title search, are Hiew Wen Ji and Hiew Wen Li, the two children of Mapletree Investments executive director and group CEO Hiew Yoon Khong.
Located at the end of a cul-de-sac in Tanglin Hill, the GCB sits on a 15,636 sq ft freehold site. It features a long driveway that can accommodate up to six cars and a back garden with a swimming pool. The existing house has a built-up area of 8,110 sq ft, spread across two storeys, with five bedrooms, a study on the first level, and a basement with a hall and a room. The master bedroom includes an ensuite bathroom with his and hers wardrobes.
The GCB at 1K Tanglin Hill was launched for sale on June 21 with an asking price of $43 million ($2,750 psf). With the sale of the property at $39.2 million, it was sold for 8.8% below the asking price.
The GCB at 1K Tanglin Hill is the last of three GCBs owned by Lim to be sold due to a court-ordered asset freeze following the collapse of his company, Hin Leong, in 2021. It was jointly owned by Lim and his daughter, Lim Huey Ching, who used to reside there with her family. Huey Ching was also a former director of Hin Leong.
The first GCB to be sold was also jointly owned with Lim’s wife, Tan Sook Eng, and located at 5 Second Avenue, off Bukit Timah Road. It was sold for $33.39 million ($1,671 psf) in October 2021. The second GCB at 20 Third Avenue was jointly held with his son, Evan Lim Chee Meng, and was sold for $26.5 million ($1,818 psf) in November 2023. With the sale of the GCB at Tanglin Hill, the total amount raised from the asset seizure is $99.09 million.
The sale of Norwood Grand marks an important milestone as the first government land sale (GLS) for non-executive condominiums in Woodlands in nearly a decade. This highly-anticipated project follows the previous sale of a plot at Woodlands Avenue 2 and Rosewood Drive in 2011, which resulted in the development of the 689-unit Parc Rosewood at a rate of $367 psf ppr. With the addition of Norwood Grand Woodlands, the area is set to witness a new wave of luxurious and modern living options for residents.
The GCB at 1K Tanglin Hill was built 26 years ago and has a built-up area of 8,110 sq ft (Photo: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)
Lim acquired the GCB at 1K Tanglin Hill in 1999 when it was newly built. According to Mary Sai, Knight Frank’s executive director of investment and capital markets, who handled the sale of all three GCBs, the new owner could either engage in extensive additions and alterations (A&A) or redevelop the property. “It depends on whether the owner is buying for investment or owner occupation,” she says.
If the new owner decides to undertake extensive A&A works, the built-up area can be increased to about 15,000 to 18,000 sq ft, according to Bruce Lye, co-founder and managing partner of SRI. If the owner chooses to tear down the property and redevelop it into a new GCB with a built-up area of 20,000 sq ft, it would cost about $20 million, based on today’s construction cost of $1,000 psf for GCBs, he estimates.
The price of the Lim’s GCB at 1K Tanglin Hill contrasts with the $93.89 million fetched by a GCB just four doors away. The GCB sits on a 15,150 sq ft freehold site. The transacted price works out to an all-time high of $6,197 psf.
It is a new GCB targeted for completion by the end of the year and comes fully furnished by the developer, Meir Homes. The GCB has a built-up area of nearly 30,000 sq ft, with two storeys and an attic. It features a basement large enough to accommodate 10 cars, an entertainment area with an 18-seater theatre, a walk-in wine chiller, a lounge, and a powder room. There is also a 25m lap pool. The first level of the house is designed for those who enjoy entertaining at home, with a large living and dining area, a powder room, and a dry and wet kitchen. The second level has a 1,500 sq ft master suite, a family lounge, and three other en suite bedrooms. The attic level includes two more en suite rooms.
“It’s hard to compare the GCBs, even though they are in the same street,” says Han Huan Mei, research director at List Sotheby’s International Realty. “One has to consider the different site configurations and attributes of the houses. One property is a former house, while the other is a new-build with a vast built-up area of 30,000 sq ft and is being sold fully furnished.”
Artist’s impression of the GCB at Tanglin Hill that sold for $93.89 million sits on a freehold site of 15,150 sq ft with a built-up area of 30,000 sq ft (Credit: Kumiko House brief)
According to an article published in the Straits Times on August 19, the GCB at Tanglin Hill is the latest among Lim’s assets to be disposed of following the Hin Leong scandal. His lawyer, Vijay Kumar, a managing partner at Tan Rajah & Cheah, states that the family has, to date, repaid “nearly US$280 million”, which includes the sale of the three GCBs.