The bid, amounting to S$360.9 million and also translating to US$6,566 per square meter per plot ratio, was submitted by the developer for an EC site at Woodlands Drive 17, whose tender closed on Tuesday, The Business Times reported.
It narrowly surpassed the previous record of S$768 per square foot per plot ratio set last October by Sim Lian, another Singaporean property developer.
ECs are a hybrid of public and private housing that cater to middle-income Singaporeans who exceed the income ceiling for public flats. They are developed and sold by private property firms to eligible families, according to digital property marketplace PropertyGuru.
The Woodlands site, which measures 25,207 square meters and can accommodate 420 units, drew five bids in total, three of which exceeded the earlier price benchmark.
The runner-up bid, submitted by Sim Lian Land and Sim Lian Development, was S$781 psf ppr, just S$1 below that of CDL. The third-highest offer came in at S$770 psf ppr.
CDL also topped the tender for another EC site at Senja Close, which also ended on Tuesday, with a bid of S$252.899 million or S$771 psf ppr.
“We are delighted to have emerged as the top bidder for these two well-located and highly sought-after EC sites, in particular for the Woodlands Drive 17 site where our bid is 0.2 per cent over the next highest bidder,” Sherman Kwek, CDL’s group CEO, said in a statement quoted by EdgeProp Singapore.
The company is ramping up its land acquisition efforts as recent launches of condos in prime areas around Singapore’s financial district have attracted buyer interest despite the government’s measures to keep property prices under control, according to Forbes.
New projects near the Orchard Road shopping belt, such as Wing Tai Holdings’ River Green development and Allgreen Properties’ Promenade Peak, have posted solid sales over the past weekend.
CDL has also sold out its two recent EC developments, Lumina Grand in Bukit Batok West and Copen Grand in Tengah, which comprised 512 units and 639 units, respectively.
“[The] two new sites totaling over 700 units represent a timely replenishment of our development pipeline in Singapore,” Sherman said in his statement.
The executive has been under market pressure to deliver on promises to reduce the company’s debt and revive its share price following a highly publicized feud earlier this year that rattled investor confidence, as per the Wall Street Journal.
In February, he was sued by his father Kwek Leng Beng, CDL’s executive chairman and one of Singapore’s richest billionaires, who accused him of orchestrating a boardroom coup to consolidate control of the company. Though the lawsuit was dropped in March, Sherman has remained under scrutiny.
The firm in June agreed to sell its 50.1% stake in the South Beach mixed-use development to joint venture partner IOI Properties Group for S$834.2 million (US$647.2 million), a move seen as part of its efforts to pare debt and rebuild investor trust.
Last year, the Kwek family’s wealth was pegged at $11.5 billion by Forbes.
