International Plaza to launch en bloc tender soon; multi-billion dollar tag would be Singapore's biggest collective sale

INTERNATIONAL Plaza will soon be put on the market via a collective sale tender, in what may potentially be Singapore's largest collective sale in history in terms of the number of units and value, sole marketing agent Edmund Tie & Company said on Friday.

Owners with at least 80 per cent in both strata area and share value had given their consent for the first collective sale attempt, representing close to 800 units. The requisite owners' consent was obtained before the Aug 10 deadline.

The reserve price was not disclosed in the Friday announcement. However, it was previously reported that International Plaza was looking to launch a collective sale in excess of S$2.6 billion back in 2018, according to The Straits Times at the time. 

Another property that has attempted a collective sale with a billion-dollar reserve price is Sim Lim Square, which launched a second collective sale in 2019 with a reserve price of S$1.25 billion. 

The 50-storey International Plaza has dual frontage along Anson Road and Choon Guan Street, occupying a "very strategic and prominent spot" in the Republic's central business district (CBD). 

It is also a stone's throw from Tanjong Pagar MRT station and located at the gateway to the Greater Southern Waterfront, Edmund Tie said.

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The development comprises 962 strata units ranging from shops, office units, residential apartments, a privately held car park and even a swimming pool - which is also a strata lot.

It has a land area of about 0.7 hectare, which is zoned for commercial use under the Urban Redevelopment Authority's (URA) Master Plan 2019.

The property's collective sale committee was formed in October 2018 and is advised by law firm Wee Swee Teow and Edmund Tie. The latter was appointed as the sole marketing agent in Q1 2019.

Edmund Tie said the collective sale exercise was disrupted by "circuit-breaker" restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020. The Ministry of Law granted a six-month extension to the collective sale committee in February this year to obtain the requisite consent.

Kevin Liang, chairman of the International Plaza collective sale committee expects keen interest from local and foreign developers and funds, given International Plaza's prime location in the CBD.

Edmund Tie executive director of investment advisory Swee Shou Fern said the redevelopment of International Plaza is arguably the "last piece in the jigsaw puzzle" in the rejuvenation of the Tanjong Pagar precinct.

"With the announcement of the CBD Incentive Scheme by URA in March 2020, we are beginning to witness the exciting transformation of the CBD into a lively live-work-play destination," Ms Swee said.

Near International Plaza is mixed-use development Tanjong Pagar Centre - which comprises an office tower, retail podium, five-star hotel and luxury residential development.

Surrounding properties AXA Tower and Fuji Xerox Towers will also be redeveloped into integrated developments.