Hiap Hoe to sell Cavenagh Properties for S$31.1m to controlling shareholder

PROPERTY group Hiap Hoe Ltd on Thursday said it plans to sell its legal rights to several Cavenagh properties for S$31.1 million to its controlling shareholder.

It will sell its legal and beneficial ownership of all of Cavenagh Properties Pte Ltd to its holding company. Cavenagh Properties, in turn, owns several property units on Cavenagh Road. The residential project for these unsold units is known as Waterscape at Cavenagh.

Hiap Hoe said that with property cooling measures, foreigners have diverted their investments to markets outside Singapore.

"The group has experienced a notable reduction in the pool of potential buyers and has not been successful in selling the remaining units of the properties despite different marketing activities and strategies rolled out by various marketing agents."

The group also has to comply with qualifying certificate rules, which state that listed developers have up to five years to finish the construction of their residential projects and sell all units within two years of the developments obtaining their temporary occupation permit.

The group has since paid an extension fee of S$1.19 million to extend the sales period for the properties by six months to March 23, 2017.

"Market conditions for the next few months are expected to remain subdued and the authorities did not provide any clear sign that the cooling measures will be lifted anytime soon in the near future."

The holding company, Hiap Hoe Holdings, is controlled by the listed company's chief executive officer Teo Ho Beng and its managing director Roland Teo Ho Kang.