Convicted Hin Leong founder OK Lim to sell his third GCB for $43 mil
By Timothy Tay
/ EdgeProp Singapore |
The GCB on Tanglin Hill is the third landed home that OK Li has been forced to sell. (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)
A third Good Class Bungalow (GCB) that belongs to former oil tycoon and founder of Hin Leong Trading, Lim Oon Kuin aka OK Lim, was put up for sale on June 21. The 15,636 sq ft GCB plot on Tanglin Hill comes at a guide price of $43 million, translating to a land rate of $2,750 psf.
The GCB is jointly owned by Lim and his daughter, Lim Huey Ching, who used to live there with her family. Huey Ching was also a former director of Hin Leong. When EdgeProp Singapore visited the house on June 24, it was clear that the family had moved out. However, there were still boxes of their possessions in their former home.
Mary Sai, Knight Frank Singapore’s executive director of capital markets (land and building, international real estate), is the marketing agent for the GCB at Tanglin Hill.
The two-storey detached house features a swimming pool and landscaped gardens. (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)
She was also the marketing agent for the previous two GCBs that were sold. The first GCB to be sold was the one at 5 Second Avenue, off Bukit Timah Road, which was jointly owned by Lim and his wife, Tan Sook Eng. It was sold for $33.39 million ($1,671 psf) in October 2021.
The second GCB, which Lim jointly held with his son, Evan Lim Chee Meng, is located at 20 Third Avenue. It was sold in November 2023 for $26.5 million ($1,818 psf).
If a buyer is found for the GCB at Tanglin Hill and the $43 million price is achieved, the total raised from the sale of all three GCBs will amount to $102.89 million. The three GCBs are part of a court-ordered asset freeze of the Lim family assets following Hin Leong’s collapse and subsequent winding up in 2021.
The property is jointly owned by Lim and his daughter, Huey Ching, who was also a director of Hin Leong Trading. (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/The Edge Singapore)
The two-storey house at 1K Tanglin Hill has a built-up area of about 8,110 sq ft. The double-storey house comes with five bedrooms, including a master suite with en suite bathroom and his and hers walk-in wardrobes. There is a study on the first level, that can also be turned into a bedroom if needed, says Sai.
According to Sai, the main attraction of the GCB is its location at the end of a cul-de-sac. The property has a long driveway that can accommodate up to six cars. If additional parking is needed, guests can park along the road outside, she adds.
So far, the GCB has attracted interest from local ultra-high-net-worth individuals. However, she doesn’t rule out the possibility of interest from Permanent Residents (PRs). This is because the GCB sits on a land area of 15,636 sq ft, which isn’t too large, she points out.
Under the Residential Property Act, foreigners cannot purchase residential landed property in Singapore. However, PRs may seek approval from the Land Dealings Approval Unit of the Singapore Land Authority to purchase landed homes in some areas, subject to criteria such as land size and tax-assessable employment income.
The GCB is located in the Ridley Park GCB Area, one of the most exclusive and desirable landed enclaves in Singapore.
“We expect to receive strong buying interest for this GCB given that it is situated in the Ridley Park GCB Area, one of Singapore’s most desirable and exclusive landed neighbourhoods,” says Sai.
Based on caveats lodged, the last GCB transacted in Tanglin Hill was in October 2019, when a property sitting on a 16,446 sq ft site was sold to Koh Tuck Lye, former board director of Hong Kong-listed Xiaomi Corporation, for $31.5 million.
The area is accessible via Tanglin Road and is close to the Orchard Road shopping district. It is also near the Singapore Botanic Gardens, the lifestyle and dining options at Dempsey Hill and Holland Village, and the medical services at Gleneagles Hospital on Napier Road and Camden Medical Centre on Orchard Boulevard.
The tender for the sale of OK Lim’s GCB on Tanglin Hill closes on July 19.
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