Singapore Land Authority receives strong bidding for office space tenders

Overview
The Singapore Land Authority (“SLA”) has received strong bidding for office space in its latest tender. ERC Holdings Pte Ltd was awarded the site of the former River Valley Primary School at 341 River Valley Road. Three other tenders for the former CPIB building, former Moulmein CC and former Pasir Panjang ITE which closed in late May saw average bids as high as 68% above the guide rents. These tenders are under evaluation. Further announcements will be made when the tenders are awarded for them. In the meantime, three more properties for office use at 18 Pearl's Hill Terrace, 10 Raeburn Park and 300 Jalan Bukit Ho Swee were also launched for tender recently.

341 River Valley Road awarded to ERC Holdings
2 ERC Holdings Pte Ltd submitted the highest of four bids for this property which is located within the Central Business District (CBD). Other bidders were from property management and hostel operations background. This property has a land area of about 17,600 square metres (sqm) and Gross Floor Area (GFA) of about 4,400 sqm. It comprises one single storey block and two blocks of 3-storey buildings with 2-storey wings, 1-storey canteen and a substation. ERC Holdings intends to convert the former school building into a boutique office complex with support services like F&B outlets, meeting and training rooms. The tenancy is for an initial term of three years and is renewable up to 2013.

3 ERC Holdings will invest S$3 to 5 million to refurbish the property. Please see Annex A for an artist’s impression of the refurbished property. It is slated to open by the 4th quarter of 2007. About half of the property’s GFA may be sub-let. ERC Holdings hopes to attract businesses with interesting concepts and ideas who will appreciate the innovative platform and vibrancy of the location.

4 Prior to winning this tender, ERC Holdings has been managing over 20,000 square feet of space in the CBD area. The former River Valley Primary School site is also the first State property that it has rented. It previously tendered unsuccessfully for other State properties at 2 Orchard Boulevard, 371 Tanjong Katong Rd and No. 1 Hyderabad Road.

5 Said Mr Andy Ong, CEO of ERC Holdings: “We have been bidding for such properties as they are a cost-efficient alternative for the private sector in the face of the high market rentals. We hope to be able to turn this site into an attractive option for our businesses and other potential tenants. In land-scarce Singapore, the interim use of State properties is a cost-effective way to optimize their use pending their long-term re-development.”

150 Cantonment Road, former CPIB building saw record 15 bids

6 This property attracted 15 bids, the highest number ever received for a SLA public tender for rental of State property. Since the start of the tender, a record number of about 40 sets of tender documents were sold. The bids ranged between $27,000.00 and $91,731.00, with Bravo Building Construction Pte Ltd’s bid being the highest; 68.6% above the guide rent. The next 11 bids were all above the guide rent by at least 10%. The enthusiastic response came from businesses ranging from property management and real estate to wholesale trading and F&B. Please see Annex B for the tender schedule.

7 This property has a land area of about 7,100 sqm, slightly smaller than a football field, and GFA of about 4,500 sqm. It comprises two blocks of three-storeys, with covered link ways and a guardhouse. The tenancy is for an initial term of three years and is renewable up to 2016.

Close of tender of former Moulmein CC and former Pasir Panjang ITE

8 The former community centre at 3 Shan Road and former ITE at 991 Alexandra Road drew bids from property management companies and securities firms. Phillip Securities Pte Ltd was one of two bidders for the former Moulmein CC. The former Pasir Panjang ITE had two bids, with RichZone Properties Investment Pte Ltd, a new property management company, offering almost 45% more than the guide rent. The other bidder, Jian Yu Construction Pte Ltd, is in both the construction and property management industries. It is an existing master tenant to two other State properties at 201 Pearl’s Hill Terrace and former Jalan Bahar SCDF Camp. Please see Annex C and Annex D for the tender schedule.

Three more new properties available for tender

18 Pearl's Hill Terrace, former CID Training Centre
9 The former CID Training Centre at 18 Pearl's Hill Terrace was launched for public tender on 29 May under the RentDirect Scheme¹. It sits on a land area of about 1,700 sqm, one-fifth of a football field, and GFA of about 790 sqm, half of the land area. The property comprises a block of 2-storey building with basic amenities. It is atop a hill and close to a MRT station with many food places nearby. It is suitable for companies who want small offices in a heritage building. Tenancy is available until December 2009.

10 Raeburn Park
10 This property (former Gan Eng Seng school) was offered on public tender on 1 June. It is located at the fringe of the CBD, suitable for business expansion especially for companies located in the CBD. The land area is about 28,000 sqm, larger than three football fields, and GFA of about 14,900 sqm, half the land area. The property comprises a 4-storey building with basement and a 2-storey building, connected by linkways. Tenancy is for an initial term of three years and is renewable up to 2016.

300 Jalan Bukit Ho Swee
11 The former Bukit Ho Swee CC at 300 Jalan Bukit Ho Swee will be launched for public tender this Friday, 8 June. It sits on a land area of about 3,800 sqm, half of a football field, and GFA of about 2,550 sqm, one third of the land area. The property is close to a MRT station, shopping mall and residential areas. Tenancy is for an initial term of three years and is renewable up to 2016. So far, the information communications and travel businesses have expressed an interest in this property. Please refer to Annex E for a summary of the three tenders.

12 SLA’s Director of Land Operations (土地咨询商业处长), Mr Simon Ong (王汉龙), said, “We expect the outcome of the other tender evaluations to be known within the next month or so. SLA will continue to identify and release in the coming months more prime sites through public tenders for office uses such as backroom support operations for financial institutions, as well as training facilities for business services.”

13 For more information on available properties for rental, please visit SLA’s State Property and Information Online (SPIO) web portal (http://www.spio.sla.gov.sg), or call the SPIO hotline at 6323 9154. The tender documents are available on http://www.gebiz.gov.sg/ from the tender opening date. Tender applications may be deposited at Singapore Land Authority, 8 Shenton Way, #26-01 Temasek Tower, Singapore 068811.

-End-

Issued by:
The Singapore Land Authority
7 June 2007

Attachments:
Annex A: Artist's impression of 341 River Valley Road (Source: ERC Holdings Pte Ltd) (A CAD version may be obtained from ERC Holdings at a later time.)
Annex B: Tender schedule of 150 Cantonment Road (Source: SLA)
Annex C: Tender schedule of 3 Shan Road (Source: SLA)
Annex D: Tender schedule of 991 Alexandra Road (Source: SLA)
Annex E: Summary of the three new tenders (Source: SLA)

Media Contacts:

From SLA
Wang Hui Ling
Corporate Communications
Tel: 6323 9116, Hp: 9823 1479
E-mail: Wang_Hui_Ling@sla.gov.sg

Susan Koh
Corporate Communications
Tel: 6323 8105, Hp: 9829 1906
E-mail: Susan_Koh@sla.gov.sg

From ERC Holdings Pte Ltd
Andy Ong
Group CEO
Tel: 6349 2738, Hp: 9682 2583
E-mail: andyong@erc.com.sg

About ERC Holdings Pte Ltd
ERC Holdings Pte Ltd is the investment holding company of the Entrepreneur’s Resource Centre (ERC). The Centre was founded by Andy Ong, Group CEO, to encourage Asians to be entrepreneurial and has benefited more than 10,000 Singaporeans so far. Through ERC’s unique training, funding and mentoring approach, ERC has assisted 29 businesses on their way to achieve business success.
ERC now has presence in 10 countries and looks to grow aggressively into the Asian region. ERC is also a LEAP partner of the Economic Development Board of Singapore for their efforts in accelerating the growth of enterprises and industries in Singapore. Its mandate is to assist in the development of education enterprises in Singapore. ERC has major stakes in some of the most prominent education enterprises in Singapore. ERC is currently strategizing its international development and is also moving into mergers and acquisitions.

About SLA
The Singapore Land Authority (SLA) is a statutory board with the Ministry of Law. Its mission is to optimise land resources for the economic and social development of Singapore. SLA is responsible for the direct management of some 14,000 hectares of State land and about 5,000 buildings. It is also in charge of land sales, leases, acquisitions and allocation, developing and marketing land-related information, and maintaining the national land information database through digitised land information services. SLA is also the national land registration authority for property transactions, and the issuance and guarantee of land titles in Singapore. It also manages and maintains the national land survey system, including the defining of boundaries or legal limits of properties based on a coordinated cadastre survey system. Please visit www.sla.gov.sg for more information.

Annex B

Annex C

Annex D

Annex E

Here is a summary of the three new tenders launched: