Foreign Property News | Posted by Zarni Kyaw
A company linked to jailed Vietnamese businesswoman Truong My Lan is in the process of selling a five-star hotel along Singapore’s Robinson Road at a 30 percent discount from what it paid for the property last year,according to market sources.
An entity related to contractor Sunray Woodcraft Construction, which is controlled by Tan Teng Huat and family, is in due diligence to buy the 134-key Hotel Telegraph at the corner of Robinson Road and Boon Tat Street from Viva Land for around S$170 million to S$180 million ($125 to $133 million), people familiar the matter told Mingtiandi this week.
Should Singapore-based Viva Land sell the hotel at the low-end of the reported price range, it will be booking a S$70 million loss on the disposal after having paid a record S$240 million to acquire what was then the So/ Singapore hotel in a deal signed in May 2022.
Singapore’s Viva Land has been making headlines over the past year due to its links to Vietnam’s Viva Land Management & Development JSC. Truong My Lan ran Viva Land in Ho Chi Minh City as a unit of her Va Thinh Phat Group until being jailed for swindling investors in October last year. Representatives of the Singapore company have previously denied any links between the two Viva Lands despite the two entities listing shared directors in public filings.
The price said to be under discussion for the central business district hotel asset translates to as low as S$1.27 million per room.
The structure incorporates a heritage building which would restrict the owner’s options for renovating or redeveloping the property.
(Van Thinh Phat’s Truong My Lan remains in custody -Image: Ministry of Public Security DSRV)
Sunray, a 36-year-old firm known for fit-out of hotels, restaurants, banks and museums, is expected to rebrand Hotel Telegraph if it proceeds with the acquisition, according to market watchers. The transaction has yet to close and no sale is certain.
Ref: VIVA LAND NEARS DEAL TO SELL SINGAPORE HOTEL TO LOCAL CONSTRUCTION FIRM AT 30% LOSS (mingtiandi)
