By SINGAPORE — An Indonesian family has purchased three two-storey Good Class Bungalows (GCBs) on Nassim Road in Singapore for a total of S$206.7 million ($155 million).
The bungalows are being sold individually to three members of the same family, but their identities have not been disclosed.
Indonesia’s Finance Minister staff has raised concerns over the news, reminding the family to fulfill their tax obligation to their country.
Good Class Bungalows (GCBs) are considered the most luxurious housing in the city, with only around 2,800 homes in Singapore, each occupying a minimum of 15,000 square feet of land.
Nassim Road is one of the most coveted addresses for such properties, considered a top-tier location.
In September last year, The Business Times reported that the three freehold bungalows which owned by Cuscaden Peak Investments have been put on the market with an asking price of S$5,200 per square foot (psf) on land area.
Located adjacent to each other at 42, 42A, and 42B Nassim Road in District 10, the three bungalows provide ample space for the owners to utilize and expand.
Each bungalow features five bedrooms, a swimming pool, and an estimated land area of 15,131 sq ft, with each property selling for around S$69 million.
According to property news site Mingtiandi, the Temasek Holding-backed firm, Cuscaden Peak Investments, sold the bungalows mid-April this year. The Indonesian family reportedly plans to redevelop the properties for their own use.
Cuscaden Peak declined to reveal the identity of the buyers.
Although the final selling price is around 14% lower than Cuscaden’s initial asking price of S$239 million, it sets a new record high for the city’s billionaires’ row.
Cuscaden’s sale also surpassed the S$4,291 psf record price for a new-bungalow basis in a GCB Area, set in 2021.
Tommy Ong, CEO of Stamped.io purchased a freehold bungalow under construction on a 14,843 sq ft plot along Cluny Hill. He paid S$63.7 million for the property.
Neighbouring Facebook co-founder
Reportedly, in 2019, Facebook’s co-founder Eduardo Saverin bought an 84,500 square foot mansion situated on Nassim Road for S$230 million. This street is also home to the embassies of Japan, Russia, and the Philippines.
Less than 100 meters from the Tanglin Shopping Centre, which was purchased by the family of Indonesian lumber tycoon Sukanto Tanoto for S$868 million in February of last year, lies the Orchard Road end of Nassim Road.
Yustinus Prastowo, the Special Staff of the Indonesian Minister of Finance for Strategic Communication, has responded to the recent purchase of luxury houses by the Indonesian family in Singapore.
According to Indonesian media Bisnis.com, Yustinus acknowledged that the purchase of the property is the family’s right, but he also reminded them to fulfil their tax obligations.
Singapore’s MHA refutes reports on 3,500 high-net-worth individuals citizenship applicants as misleading
The sales also mark the second occasion in the last five months that the company has sold a Good Class Bungalow (GCB), having sold a two-storey home at Yarwood Avenue for approximately S$30 million in November 2022.
This sale reflects the increasing attractiveness of Singapore as a favored destination for affluent families worldwide.
Earlier, Singapore’s Chinese-language daily Lianhe Zaobao reported that the city state is set to attract nearly 3,500 wealthy individuals with a net worth exceeding US$1 million to become citizens this year.
According to Andrew Amoils, Head of Research at New World Wealth, each of them has an average investable wealth of at least six million US dollars although it remains uncertain how much wealth these new citizens will bring.
However, the MHA refuted these claims on Tuesday (25 Apr), stating that the cited figures originated from a private research firm based in Johannesburg, South Africa.
The ministry expressed uncertainty regarding the methodology used to arrive at these numbers and emphasized that Singapore citizenship applications for the remainder of 2023 are still pending.
Describing the report as “highly misleading” and lacking a credible foundation, the MHA clarified that a high net worth does not automatically guarantee Singaporean citizenship.