KUALA LUMPUR (March 12): Billionaire Robert Kuok-controlled developer Allgreen Properties has bought the Seletar Mall, a shopping mall in the northeastern part of Singapore, for US$412 million (RM1.93 billion).

In a report last week, the Forbes magazine said the property was sold by Cuscaden Peak — jointly owned by tycoon Ong Beng Seng’s Hotel Properties and companies linked to state-owned Temasek Holdings — and partner Singapore-based United Engineers (a subsidiary of Chinese billionaire Zhong Sheng Jian’s Yanlord Land) to Allgreen after Paragon Real Estate Investment Trust (formerly SPH REIT) waived its option to buy the property from its sponsor.

With a net lettable area of 189,467 sq ft (17,602 sq m), the suburban mall serves the high-density residential areas of Sengkang and Punggol in northeastern Singapore, Cushman & Wakefield and JLL, which brokered the deal, said in a joint statement, according to Forbes.

The property is 100% leased, and counts NTUC FairPrice, Haidilao and Uniqlo among its key tenants.

The acquisition will diversify the asset base of Allgreen, which owns the Great World City office, retail and serviced apartment complex as well as the Tanglin Mall, both near the Orchard Road shopping district.

The company is expanding its retail footprint amid a recovery in retail spending, which rose 1.3% in January from a year ago.

Allgreen — the privately held real estate arm of the Kuok group — has been stepping up its investments in Singapore, a haven for the world’s richest and host to more than 1,000 family offices from around the world.

It is currently developing Pasir Ris 8, a residential and shopping mall complex integrated to the Pasir Ris transport hub in the easternmost part of Singapore.

With a net worth of US$11.4 billion, Kuok, who turned 100 years old in October last year, is the wealthiest man in Malaysia, with interests in commodities, real estate and shipping.