Former Xiaomi director buys Tanglin Hill GCB for $31.5m
Located within the Ridley Park GCB area, the freehold bungalow is more than 30 years old and is nestled on a 16,446 sq ft site.
Hong Kong-listed Xiaomi Corporation’s former board member, Koh Tuck Lye, has acquired an old good class bungalow (GCB) along Tanglin Hill for $31.5 million or $1,915 per square foot (psf), reported The Business Times.
Located within the Ridley Park GCB area, the freehold bungalow is more than 30 years old and is nestled on a 16,446 sq ft site.
Koh, a Singaporean who is also known as Xu Dalai, is expected to tear down the District 10 property to make way for a new house.
“The land value fetched by the property is likely to be the highest in the Ridley Park GCB Area,” noted List Sotheby’s International Realty (List SIR).
The seller in this transaction is represented by List SIR senior associate vice-president Steve Tay. “Based on caveats lodged, the last GCB that changed hands in Tanglin Hill was three years ago. Located one street away, the 17,728 sq ft freehold site fetched $27.5 million ($1,551 psf) in March 2016,” he said.
Bungalows within the 39 gazetted GCB Areas are considered Singapore’s most prestigious form of landed housing. These properties come with strict planning conditions to preserve their low-rise character and exclusivity.
List SIR revealed that the family selling the bungalow has decided to move to a larger GCB. It purchased the property in 1984.
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Meanwhile, Koh has resigned as Xiaomi Corporation’s non-executive director and audit committee member last month to focus on venture capital firm Shunwei Capital.
The firm was co-founded by Koh with Xiaomi’s chairman, CEO and co-founder Lei Jun. The latter will serve as Shunwei Capital’s chairman, while Kho will serve as CEO.
Information from Xiaomi’s 2018 annual report showed that Koh holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the National University of Singapore.
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Victor Kang, Digital Content Specialist at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email victorkang@propertyguru.com.sg
