S$131 million purchase of two GCBs in Belmont Road may be linked to Hillhouse boss Zhang Lei

TWO adjoining freehold bungalows on Belmont Road, off Holland Road, have changed hands for a total of S$131.4 million. The price works out to S$3,000 per square foot (psf) on land area for both houses.

Located within the Belmont Park Good Class Bungalow (GCB) Area, the properties were sold in separate transactions, by a pair of doctor siblings.

The sister sold the bungalow that sits on the smaller plot of 19,223 sq ft for nearly S$57.7 million; her brother’s property, with a site area of 24,566 sq ft, went for slightly above S$73.7 million.

The larger property was acquired by Jennifer Tzelee Teo, a Singapore citizen in her late 40s. She also picked up the other property in her capacity as trustee.

Some parents use a trust structure to acquire a Singapore residential property with the beneficiary being a child who is a minor.

Searches on the Handshakes portal showed that Teo and Hillhouse Investment founder and chairman Zhang Lei, a naturalised Singaporean, were directors of Singapore-incorporated HHLR Management, an outfit of private equity heavyweight Hillhouse.

HHLR was formerly known as Hillhouse Capital Management and Hillhouse Capital Advisor. Zhang and Teo became its directors in April 2007, and had the same Singapore residential address: an apartment in the Claymore area.

Zhang was listed as the sole shareholder of the company. Today, HHLR is wholly owned by Cayman Islands-registered HH SG Group. Teo and Zhang ended their directorships at the company in January 2012 and January 2013, respectively.

Permission to redevelop combined site

The two bungalows in Belmont Road that have changed hands do not have a boundary wall between them and share a common driveway.

The vendors obtained the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s written permission in May 2021 to redevelop the combined site of 43,790 sq ft into a two-storey bungalow with two basement levels, an attic and a swimming pool.

The planning permission, which would have expired in May 2023, has been extended to May 2025.

Industry players generally saw the S$3,000 psf on land price for the two bungalows as being above market expectations.

Observers said the combined site can be redeveloped into a large house at the highest point of Belmont Road with a 360-degree view on the upper floors.

Bungalows in the 39 gazetted GCB Areas are the most prestigious form of landed housing in Singapore, with strict planning conditions to preserve their exclusivity and low-rise character. Among other things, a minimum plot size of 1,400 square metres or 15,070 sq ft is stipulated as the planning norm for newly created bungalows in GCB Areas.

There are only about 2,700 bungalows in these areas.

One generally has to be a Singapore citizen to be allowed to buy a landed property in a GCB Area.

Video: What is a Good Class Bungalow?