Singapore Property Walkabouts

Singapore’s residential property landscape has transformed dramatically over the years. From sleepy kampongs and shophouses to high-rise condominiums of today, the aesthetics of what a ‘home’ should look like has changed significantly. Prices of homes have also moved up in tandem with Singapore’s prosperity. The unintended consequence of this is that many ’boutique’ developers of the yesteryear have now gone into obscurity. This comes as land costs, either from en-bloc or Government Land Sales, have increased exponentially and thus increasingly out of reach for small-time developers.

Additionally, with buyer cooling measures and the ABSD Deadline for developers in place, developers run the risk of having to pay huge penalties if they are not able to complete and sell their projects within 5 years. Coupled with much thinner margins than ever before, bidding for a project for a boutique developer would not make much sense anymore.

My intention was to bring more coverage to Singapore-based boutique developers, sharing more about their history, founders and developments which they have been involved in. I expect this to be an evolving list as I gain more information through various sources. There doesn’t seem to be a proper way to get a comprehensive list of developers in Singapore, especially the boutique players (think the likes of Aurum Land, TG Development etc) and I shall start by those which are the easiest to locate – those which are listed on the Singapore Exchange (Mainboard or Catalist).

More specifically, I have limited the search to those which have a market cap of below S$500mil. These are not “boutique” by most accounts but when you compare them to the likes of CDL and UOL (both with a market cap of almost S$5bn), the ones here are definitely much smaller. I have excluded REITs (e.g. Sabana REIT, United Hampshire REIT), overseas and student housing developers (e.g. Centurion, Yoma Strategic, UOA etc) from this article, since the focus is on developers who are involved in the ardrous process of sourcing, acquiring and developing the land in Singapore. I would also point out that given the tepid stock market in Singapore, many privately-owned developers may actually be worth more than those listed on the SGX..

Without further ado… let’s begin.

1. Oxley Holdings

SGX Ticker: 5UX | Share Price: S$0.07 (21 March 2025) | Market Cap: S$302mil | 5Y Performance: -67%

FY2024 – Revenue: S$288.4mil | Gross Profit S$(80.7)mil | Total Assets: S$2,716mil

Oxley first built its name as a “shoebox unit” developer back in the early 2010s before venturing into more ambitious and larger scale developments in Singapore and abroad in the latter half of the 2010s. Founded by policeman turned developer Ching Chiat Kwong, who read Sociology at NUS on a Singapore Police Force scholarship, Oxley now has a presence across 6 markets – Singapore, Malaysia, Cambodia, China, UK and Ireland.

In my view, Oxley is ambitious, aggressive and never one to shy away from risks. Indeed, one of the gripes which research analysts have long pointed out is their high leverage ratio. Ching famously took a mortgage on his own home to build his first development, Tyrwhitt 139, which thankfully paid off handsomely as it sold out within 3 hours in 2007. Oxley went on to build many more “shoebox” units, which are generally investment units less than 500 sqft in size to match the aspirations of Singaporeans. Among them are developments which many of you have probably never heard of – Vibes @ Upper Serangoon, Vibes @ East Coast, Vibes @ Kovan, Oxley Edge, Suites @ Katong, Loft @ Stevens, Loft @ Holland etc. Oxley took advantage of ~2017 en bloc boom and were ahead of the market in their acquisitions, allowing them to pocket good gains from much larger developments such as Riverfront Residences, Affinity at Serangoon, Mayfair Gardens, Mayfair Modern, Kent Ridge Hill Residences etc. In total, they launched more than 3,500 units between 2018 to 2019.

Beyond our shores, Oxley also ventured far and wide. Across the causeway, they have built Oxley Towers KLCC and are invested in SO Sofitel Kuala Lumpur. In Cambodia, Oxley built 3 developments that span residential, commercial and hospitality interests, including the Shangri-La Phnom Penh. Oxley has also built a name in the UK, with the Royal Wharf a bustling new area close to the Canary Wharf financial district.

In terms of its ownership, Oxley is largely owned by Ching Chiat Kwong (Executive Chairman & CEO) who holds about 43.8% (S$145mil), Low See Ching (Deputy CEO) who owns 28.6% (S$95mil) and Tee Wee Sien (one of the co-founders who appears to be a passive partner) who owns 11.1% (S$37mil).

2. Hiap Hoe

SGX Ticker: 5JK | Share Price: S$0.52 (21 March 2025) | Market Cap: S$245mil | 5Y Performance: -32%

FY2024 – Revenue: S$125.4mil | Gross Profit S$6.6mil | Total Assets: S$1,589mil

Hiap Hoe started life in the 1950s as a construction company before venturing into real estate development and investments. It continues to retain its construction arm, having built and refreshed parts of the PIE, Nicoll Highway, Tuas South Incineration Plant, Changi Airport and Woodlands Checkpoint over the years.

Among its more interesting business ventures is SuperBowl, Singapore’s leading bowling provider with 8 alleys across the island. While bowling seems to be past its prime these days, it was all the rage back in the 1980s and 90s when SuperBowl first started.

Besides its interests in the sporting scene, Hiap Hoe has also built its own industrial building in HH@Kallang and has hospitality interests through its flagship development at Zhongshan Park, which combines a retail mall, office units and a hotel – Aloft Singapore Novena under the Marriott Group and is the world’s largest Aloft hotel at the moment. It also has 2 hotels in Perth (Aloft Perth and Great Eastern Motor Lodge) and 1 in Manchester (Holiday Inn Express Manchester – TraffordCity).

Hiap Hoe has developed a number of residential developments over the years, including a number of them in the prime districts of 9, 10 and 11, including the likes of Proximo, Signature@Lewis and Treasure on Balmoral in Bukit Timah and Waterscape at Cavenagh, Cuscaden Royale and Skyline 360 in Orchard. Most of them have less than 100 units and are considered boutique developments and when viewing a unit at Waterscape at Cavenagh, it was brought to my knowledge that Hiap Hoe continues to hold on to a number of units there as part of their investment portfolio, as with some units at Treasure on Balmoral. This build-to-hold strategy has definitely paid off over the years with rising asset prices but will get increasingly difficult to justify with ABSD deadlines for developers.

In terms of its ownership, Hiap Hoe is largely owned by Teo Ho Beng (Executive Chairman and its former CEO) who has a deemed interest of 74.3%, which works out to be worth S$208m at today’s prices.

3. Tuan Sing

SGX Ticker: T24 | Share Price: S$0.28 (21 March 2025) | Market Cap: S$352mil | 5Y Performance: +27%

FY2024 – Revenue: S$192.5mil | Gross Profit S$2.3mil | Total Assets: S$2,700mil

Tuan Sing was founded back in 1969 and was listed on the SGX shortly after in 1973. It has a regional focus, with residential, commercial and hospitality interests in Singapore, Indonesia, Shanghai and Australia (Perth and Melbourne). It also has a ~8% stake in a real estate company in Sanya, China, and a 2% stake in a Bali-based development company.

Besides real estate, Tuan Sing is also invested in several other unrelated industries. These include a 100% interest in Hypak, a Malaysian industrial packaging producer and supplier of polypropylene woven bags and laminated bags, ~45% stake in printed circuit board maker GulTech and a 49% stake in golf distributor Pan-West.

I am personally vested in Tuan Sing, having purchased 1 lot (1,000 shares) at $0.47 back in 2015, which means that I continue to be in red, as with all of my Singapore stocks. The reason for the purchase was because of the diversified real estate holdings Tuan Sing has, which is reflected in its NAV of $1. Tuan Sing’s crown jewel is undoubtedly 18 Robinson, an award winning Grade A office development designed by the renowned Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates. 82% of the land it sits on is 999 years, which is as good as Freehold. Other assets include Link@896 along Dunearn Road, which the Group shared publicly that it may have plans to turn it into a hotel or serviced apartment, the 11th floor of Far East Finance Building along Robinson Road and 3 floors of The Oxley along Oxley Rise.

Its more lucrative foreign assets are in Australia, which includes Grand Hyatt Melbourne and Residence on Langley Park in Perth. Both are these are very dated, with the former having been built in the 1980s. As such, Tuan Sing has announced plans to redevelop Grand Hyatt Melbourne to transform it into luxury retail and F&B precinct. Tuan Sing also expanded its hospitality portfolio through the $140.9mil purchase of Frasers Residence Riverside Promenade in Singapore (part of the Riviere residential development) in 2024.

4. Chuan Hup

SGX Ticker: C33 | Share Price: S$0.151 (21 March 2025) | Market Cap: S$138mil | 5Y Performance: -22%

FY2024 – Revenue: S$7.2mil | Gross Profit S$1.3mil | Total Assets: S$255mil

Chuan Hup was first listed on the Singapore Exchange back in 1983, having first been founded in the 1950s as a hardware trading business. They were subsequently involved in the marine sector, operating its tug and barge business when it was listed on the SGX. They described themselves as the largest “owner and operator of offshore vessels” in ASEAN from 1985 to 1986, an impressive feat for a fledging company.

They started diversifying from its marine roots since 2001, when its first real estate development, The Clementvale, a 99-year cluster of landed homes near Clementi were completed. In 2005, Chuan Hup had divested from its marine business to Scomi Marine Berhad and evolved into an investment company.

Chuan Hup ventured further abroad, into a territory familiar with a number of Singapore developers – Australia. With its JV partner Finbar, they sold out a 142-unit apartment block, Reflections, in Perth in 2009 and further developed more properties with Finbar in the years that followed.

In Singapore, Chuan Hup also entered into the office space in 2014, acquiring 3 floors of GB Building along Cecil Street. The most recent transaction at GB Building was the sale of the 26th floor for $10.88mil ($1978psf) in October 2024. Chuan Hup added to their office portfolio by acquiring 1 floor at The Central, where it now also houses its corporate office.

In a bid for further diversification, in 2021, they have ventured outside of Western Australia into Queensland, with 2 property developments in Surfer’s Paradise and have also partnered with Brand New Land Group (https://brandnewland.com.sg/portfolio/property-portfolio/paulownia/) to launch a pair of semi-Ds in Upper Bukit Timah, in relatively close proximity to its maiden development in Clementi.

5. SingHoldings

SGX Ticker: 5IC | Share Price: S$0.35 (21 March 2025) | Market Cap: S$140mil | 5Y Performance: +13%

FY2024 – Revenue: S$15.0mil | Gross Profit S$10.7mil | Total Assets: S$875mil

SingHoldings was founded in 1964 and despite its long history, it was one of the later players to be listed on the Singapore Exchange, having only listed in 2007. Its trendy new logo was released as part of its 60th anniversary in 2024, reinventing the company for its next chapter.

It participated in the first Bayshore GLS exercise in March 2025, ultimately coming up short against SingHaiYi, another developer which I will cover eventually. SingHoldings’ latest development is North Gaia, an Executive Condo in Yishun launched in 2022 and expected to be completed in 2025. As such, I presume it is an appropriate time for them to look to replenish their landbank.

As compared to Chuan Hup, SingHoldings is a much more active developer in Singapore, with a good track record across boutique and larger sized developments in the heartlands and prime districts. More affordable developments include those in the OCR – Parc Botannia in Sengkang and Waterwoods in Punggol while they have proven equally adept at luxury developments in the form of Meyer Residence at Meyer Road, Bellerive at Keng Chin Road, Robin Residences at Robin Drive and The Laurels at Cairnhill Road.

As with most other developers on this list, SingHoldings also has exposure to commercial and industrial properties, having previously built EastGate along East Coast Road (I attended many weekend tuition classes there) and BizTech Centre along Aljunied Road. The Group continues to own 24 strata units in the latter, with an average occupancy rate of 83%.

SingHoldings also has hospitality assets in the form of a 291-room hotel in Travelodge Docklands in Melbourne, which has an average occupancy rate of 70% according to its 2023 Annual Report.

For commercial and industrial projects, the Group developed BizTech Centre at Aljunied Road, EastGate building along East Coast Road and Ocean Towers in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China.

The founding Lee family’s ownership interest in Sing Holdings stands at ~40%.