City Developments (CDL)

[opmi]

CDL China property is not at the right places. Mainly Chongqing.

Why Chongqing is not a right place? It might not be as good as Shanghai, but also a tier 1 city, right?

The right places are BJ, GZ, SZ and SH. CQ is a inland city. GDP growth probably propped up by Govt during Bo XiLai times. Heard that it is not a great place to live. Known as the hot pot of China.

[corydorus]

There is significant growth in CQ. Whole industry of electronic hub moving towards there. Some may remember the new silk road to europe by train shown by National Geographics.

[CityFarmer]

CDL China property is not at the right places. Mainly Chongqing.

Why Chongqing is not a right place? It might not be as good as Shanghai, but also a tier 1 city, right?

The right places are BJ, GZ, SZ and SH. CQ is a inland city. GDP growth probably propped up by Govt during Bo XiLai times. Heard that it is not a great place to live. Known as the hot pot of China.

You knew the right places in China. Those cities are the top 4 cities in China by GDP.

CQ isn't too far off, it is among the top 10 cities in China by GDP. Base on wiki, it is the 7th highest GDP city in China in 2011, with GDP of US$155 Bil. So I will not regard CQ as a wrong place for CDL.

Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pre...ies_by_GDP

[egghead]

That is correct. CapitaMallAsia also has substantial investment in Chong Qing and Chengdu which are developing quickly.

[Xreporter]

Hi there,

I've seen the facebook page which gives a good read, very interesting.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Suit-307-...7084677424

In it, it compares the floor plan between The Rainforest and Blossom Residences, both penthouse unit, developer is CDL. The Rainforest was launch immediately after Blossom. The contrast shows the inconsistency in the floor plan, whereby BR concealed the void while RF clearly shows the void over living/dining.

If say the void was not revealed during OTP but only S&P, then i think the couple has a case. If i remember correctly the URA rules to have all the information available to buyer before exercise OTP effective April 2012, then it could be due to one of many such cases, which URA is in the position to ensure buyers get all these info before they sign on the dotted line, buyers are then protected and know what they are paying for ....

More interestingly if you compare and you'll be surprised by the difference:

Type B2PH1
Can obtain from http://www.cdl.com.sg/blossomresidences/
Go to Interiors > Floor Plans > B2PH1
From the floor plan, there’s no “VOID” space mentioned and you hardly know if there’s any void.

http://www.cdl.com.sg/therainforest/floo...types.html
Go to B2PH. The floor plan clearly specified (including open balcony and high ceiling / void at living & dining). It also shows a picture with a cross in a box denoting “void over living/dining”.

Can CDL explain why there's such inconsistency ?

Hi there ... just got info that the hearing will start again sometimes in early April... I have read the news from major newspaper in Singapore and also even Malaysia, Hong Kong ,Shanghai and even Korea has known something about this case ... the facebook gave quite details about this case .. I'm watching the outcome and for sure it will be on headlines in the news again.... the couple's courage has impressed the world ...

[chialc88]

This is indeed a serious charge on CDL:
fraudulently concealing the existence of a 20 sqm void space

Timeline:
URA guideline effective on April 2012.
The couple sign the OTP earlier than the effective date. That's why they need to fight the case.
Otherwise, CDL already admit mistakes.

Question is, how can the couple find a better lawyer than CDL?
They will definitely need someone with better resume than CDL's lawyer.

Senior Counsel Ang Cheng Hock
After graduating with first class honours from the faculty of law at the National University of Singapore, Mr Ang did his pupillage under current Law Minister K.Shanmugam.

One thing he learnt from Mr Shanmugam is that there are no short cuts in litigation. Hard work and diligence is necessary.

‘I owe him a lot for the experience, training and opportunities he gave me,’ said Mr Ang. ‘He’s one of the most brilliant lawyers.’

Asked to describe himself outside of work, he said: ‘I’m just a typical Singaporean: go home, watch movies, meet friends, nothing too unusual.’
Love Compassion


A Life not Reflected is a Life not Worth Living.

[sgbillion]

stock CDL :

http://ir.cdl.com.sg/phoenix.zhtml?c=607...stockquote

[greengiraffe]

Buyers circle $200m Sydney Sofitel
LISA ALLEN THE AUSTRALIAN APRIL 10, 2014 12:00AM

AT least a dozen Asian private equity and developer groups are jockeying to buy the landmark Sofitel Sydney Wentworth Hotel, in a sign foreign cash is still paying attention to the Australian hospitality sector.

Singapore hotel owner CDL is among the frontrunners for the 436-room, heritage-listed hotel, along with Korea’s Millennium Group and Indonesian private equity player Sunardi Loekman. Price expectations are at least $200 million. Previously known as the Wentworth Hotel, the Sofitel was put on the market by the $US3 billion ($3.2bn) LaSalle Investment Management group last October — three years after the fund bought the Phillip Street hotel for about $130m.

Of the potential buyers, CDL is probably the most cashed up. Its hotel arm, Millennium & Copthorne Hotels, is one of the largest hotel operators and owners in the world, listing on the London Stock Exchange in 1996. Hotels under its ownership include the luxe St Regis Singapore, Millennium Hilton Bangkok and the W Singapore Sentosa Cove.

Mr Loekman is a New Zealand-based private equity investor controlling a considerable Australasian hotel portfolio including Wellington’s InterContinental, which he recently bought for about $NZ50m ($46.4m). Mr Loekman’s Colwall Property Investments also owns Auckland’s Crowne Plaza Hotel, while an affiliate company controls Rotorua’s Novotel and Ibis hotels bought for $NZ43m.

Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels and McVay Real Estate are handling the Sofitel sale.

With more than $2bn in hotel and resorts sales in Australia last year and $7bn in Asia it is clear that international capital markets are much more open to hotel investment than they once were, said Dransfield Hotels & Resorts hotel analyst Dean Dransfield yesterday.

“The types of buyers also seem much more open to development or the substantive reuse of buildings, which reflects their confidence in the outlook for the market,’’ Mr Dransfield said.

He added that the Sofitel was seen as an “opportunity site” both in terms of physical development and working with the operator.

“Sofitel has a long-term agreement over the hotel, the buyer could work with Accor to improve the positioning with capital expenditure. (But) the trick is finding a way to do that within the heritage constraints.”

The Sofitel is one of the first major hotels offered this year. Starwood is expected to soon list its Sheraton on the Park property on Elizabeth Street.

[greengiraffe]

High time liao...

Sons of CDL veterans join senior management
PUBLISHED ON APR 16, 2014 1:27 AM

Mr Sherman Kwek has been named chief investment officer of CDL, while Mr Kwek Eik Sheng (above) has been appointed chief strategy officer.
THE sons of City Developments (CDL) executive chairman Kwek Leng Beng and deputy chairman Kwek Leng Joo have joined the property developer's senior management team.

Mr Kwek Leng Beng's son Sherman, 38, was named chief investment officer on Monday, the firm said in a Singapore Exchange filing yesterday.

It said he would help expand its overseas portfolio, accelerate its investment programmes and enhance the external wing of the business.

He will remain chief executive of CDL's China subsidiary, which he has helmed since August 2010.

Mr Kwek Leng Joo's son Eik Sheng, 32, was appointed chief strategy officer and will assist in investment analysis and formulation of CDL's business strategies. He joined CDL in January 2009.

The appointments follow a shake-up in CDL's top ranks in January, when it broke with tradition by picking a chief executive from outside the Kwek family.

It tapped Mr Grant Kelley, who previously headed Asia-Pacific real estate at private equity fund Apollo Global Management.

It also announced then that Mr Kwek Leng Joo would move from his post of managing director to become deputy chairman.

Mr Kwek Leng Beng told a results briefing in 2011 that he was "not averse personally to getting an outsider to come and run the company... if my relatives or my son cannot perform".

Mr Kelley said in a statement yesterday: "The business landscape domestically and globally is changing rapidly. The new appointments will address these major trends."

CDL shares closed eight cents up at $10.31 yesterday before the announcement.

MELISSA TAN

[opmi]

actually Vincent Yeo, CEO of CDL HT is nephew of Kwek LB too. already in for more than 7 years.