Keppel Land Sells 2 Upmarket Blocks To Overseas Fund

Source : The Business Times, August 1, 2007

Al-Nibras Islamic Real Estate Fund pays $286m for 56 homes

KEPPEL Land has sold two apartment blocks in its upmarket Reflections at Keppel Bay to an overseas fund for about $286 million, the developer said yesterday.

'Reflections at Keppel Bay will definitely attract investors from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.'
- K Salman Younis, managing director of Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia)

BT understands that the 56 waterfront homes in the two blocks were sold for $2,000-$2,500 per square foot (psf).

The two blocks were sold to the Al-Nibras Islamic Real Estate Fund, which was set up by Kuwait Finance House, an Islamic banking unit in Kuwait, and Amanah Raya Berhad, a Malaysian government-owned entity.

The 56 apartments range from two-bedroom units of an average size of 1,076 sq ft each to 5,000 sq ft penthouse units.

Reflections at Keppel Bay, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, has 1,129 units, of which 558 have been sold.

The US$200 million Al-Nibras Fund has started to make inroads into Singapore and the rest of the Asean region, the fund and KepLand said in a joint statement.

K Salman Younis, managing director of Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhad, a unit of Kuwait Finance House, said that the fund sees Reflections at Keppel Bay as an 'ideal investment'.

'A premium waterfront development like Reflections at Keppel Bay will definitely attract investors from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries,' he said.

Developers launching upmarket residential projects in Singapore have of late reported receiving offers from both local and overseas funds to buy entire blocks in their developments.

While some companies have taken up the funds on their offers, others have preferred to sell the apartments to individual buyers instead.

Singapore's private home prices have climbed some 13.5 per cent since the start of the year, boosted by developers selling luxury apartments at record prices.

KepLand's shares lost five cents to end at $8.35 yesterday - after hitting a high of $8.55 earlier in the day. The stock has climbed 21.0 per cent since the start of the year.