INDIAN billionaire Bhupendra Kumar Modi moved into his $15.46 million penthouse at Marina Bay yesterday and immediately set about unpacking some ambitious plans for his new home country.

The founder and chairman of conglomerate Spice Group – it has interests in telecommunications, technology, financial services and entertainment – has set up two funds worth more than $100 million to invest here.

The tycoon also wants to open a 24/7 ‘Hollywood meets Bollywood’ entertainment centre at one of two floating crystal pavilions coming up at the Marina Bay Sands integrated resort.

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SINGAPORE : CapitaLand has sealed a deal to acquire Gillman Heights Condominium for S$548 million.

The former HUDC development was first placed on the en-bloc market in July last year but residents did not receive any offers that they could accept until now.

When Gillman Heights was put up for sale six months ago, the frontrunners were seen to include developers like Frasers Centrepoint, MCL Land and Guocoland.

CapitaLand did not even figure in the picture then.

But sources told Channel NewsAsia that CapitaLand made a late entry last Friday.

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THE top bidder for the 99-year condo site on Upper Thomson Road on Thursday has been revealed as a unit of Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing’s Cheung Kong Holdings.

This was confirmed yesterday by Raymond Chui, general manager of the group’s Singapore-based unit Property Enterprises Development.

Cheung Kong unit Treasure Well Investments’ bid was for $251.3 million or about $533 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr) – the highest seen for a private housing site at a state land tender this year.

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Sites for tender will yield 2,925 units but they won’t be ready for at least 1.5 years

The Government came out about a week ago to say that there is no shortage of residential supply and thus no need for buyers to rush. That was when it announced its decision to tender out eight residential sites for sale in the first half of next year.

The eight sites are in non-city areas such as Choa Chu Kang, Simei and Tampines.

It also has a long reserve list of residential sites that are available for sale, if developers are to show interest by committing to a minimum bid the Government finds acceptable.

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Private home prices here are expected to hit a new high in 2010 and perhaps rise even further after that, should the economy continue to grow.

But analysts said on Friday that sales volumes in 2010 are likely to fall back to sub-10,000 levels seen in previous years.

Observers are projecting that 15,000 to 16,000 units will be sold in the primary market in 2009 – the highest on record.

The launch of a mass market project in Jurong West – Caspian – broke the dam for new home sales in Singapore earlier in 2009.

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But the jury is out on whether the govt’s release of plots will tame land bids, which have soared wildly at state tenders

THE government is offering developers a platter of residential sites through the confirmed and reserve lists for the next half – including several plots in the vicinities of hot-selling condo launches this year, such as Caspian near Jurong Lake and Alexis near Queenstown MRT Station.

However, the jury is out on how much this will tame land bids, which have soared wildly at recent state tenders.

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TWO directors in the Keppel group of companies are shelling out millions of dollars for units in the plush Marina Bay Suites that Keppel Land is involved in developing.

Keppel Corp director Alvin Yeo, who is also the senior partner at law firm Wong Partnership, is paying $6.54 million or $2,442 per sq ft (psf) for a 2,680 sq ft apartment on the 32nd floor of the luxury project.

The details of the transaction were disclosed in an announcement by Keppel Land to the Singapore Exchange yesterday as part of the exchange’s listing rules.

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Highest bid of $19.4 million came from Kng Realty

A 30-year leasehold industrial site at Pioneer Road North and Soon Lee Drive has attracted strong demand, pointing to sustained confidence in the economy.

By the close of tender yesterday, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) had received eight bids for the 18,958.8 square metre plot, which has a maximum gross plot ratio of two. The top bid came from Kng Realty Pte Ltd, at $19.4 million or $48 per square foot per plot ratio (psf ppr).

CB Richard Ellis Research executive director Li Hiaw Ho expects the development’s breakeven cost to range from $190-$210 psf.

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SUNTEC Real Estate Investment Trust (Suntec Reit) yesterday raised net proceeds of about $149 million from a private placement to reduce debt, joining a host of other Reits that have made cash calls this year.

Suntec Reit called for a trading halt in the morning to announce the launch of the private placement. The Reit manager said that book-building closed within three hours. Suntec Reit managed to place out 128.5 million new units at $1.19 apiece.

The issue price was a 6.5 per cent discount to the volume weighted average price of $1.2724 per unit, based on trades done on Thursday. The new units represent around 7.7 per cent of the number of units in issue on Thursday.

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Occupancy rates picking up as corporate travel improves; hoteliers expect leisure travel to rise with IRs’ opening

WITH hotel occupancies having clawed their way up to healthier levels this quarter and tourism starting to show signs of recovery, the hotel industry appears to be regaining lost ground.

Room rates, which also came under pressure this year thanks to a slump in travel demand, are also likely to start increasing gradually in line with the market, some hotels said.

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