IOI’s Lee Yeow Seng could be vindicated in going big on prime Singapore city-centre properties

[SINGAPORE] Increased borrowing to go on an acquisition binge or to fund the development of mega projects can bring once-mighty property groups to their knees when things go awry. In recent times, China Evergrande Group and Hong Kong’s New World Development, for example, have encountered major problems because of over-indebtedness.

With interest rates possibly rising and a hazy economic outlook, perhaps property groups in general would be wise to pare gearing and go slow on acquisitions. 

That hardly appears to be the playbook of Malaysia’s IOI Properties Group, which is led by group CEO Lee Yeow Seng.