Chew's Agriculture to sell Murai farm and assets to govt for S$38.7m

LOCAL agricultural firm Chew's Agriculture Pte Ltd is selling its Murai farm and assets to the government for S$38.7 million.

It will then move to a site 6.5 kilometres away that will be purchased from the government for close to S$4 million.

"The new site, which has a longer lease term than the current farm premises, will provide greater lease certainty for Chew's Agriculture to make productivity-enhancing investments, and facilitate Chew's Agriculture's relocation to Lim Chu Kang," said parent company Chew's Group Ltd in a filing to Singapore Exchange on Monday evening.

The group said that Chew's Agriculture will be divesting its current farm premises located at 20 Murai Farmway and an agreed list of assets to the government for S$38,654,322, excluding goods and services tax (GST). The negotiations were initiated by the government.

In turn, Chew's Agriculture will purchase a site located along Neo Tiew Road for a consideration of S$3,980,000, excluding GST and processing fees from the government. The term for the new site is 30 years.

To ensure continuity of business operations, Chew's Agriculture will lease the current Murai facilities for the sole purpose of poultry farming, for a period of three years from June 1, 2016 to May 31, 2019, said the group.