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- Nov 24, 2008
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So, what to make of this family feud so far? I have been in a few of these myself with my own family members. And you know what, it always revolves around Money. I know other things have been mentioned in the court and in the press, such as preservation, obeying LKY’s last wish, memorial garden, honouring his legacy, making political capital out of the house etc. But it was always about the money, and nothing but the money, goobs of it.
After having some kopi and bak kut tea and other such things with my kakis, some of whom are rather senior civil serpents, they ask me to consider another reason for this whole mess. As for the money, its not about the 150% of valuation that Yang paid for his share of the house from Loong. In fact, the whole thing could result in multi hundred million dollars just for the right Lee, and billions at the market if they can pull it off.
What do I mean when I say this? Consider the surrounding area of 38 Oxley Road. Have you ever wonder as you drive through the area, why everything is low rise and nothing much is over 5 storey. I mean even relatively recent freehold condos like Oxley Residence, down the road from LKY’s house, developed by Cheong Hooi Hong only has 12 units on 3 or 4 levels, and that piece of land is large. Larger parcels like Valley Mansions at 50 Oxley, is only 5 storeys high on very large lots, and that was build way back in 1970. The same story is every where. When you drive down Lloyd or Eber, or Dublin, you will see many low –rise residences, freehold and all very very ripe for en bloc.
So, why haven’t they been en bloc and developed through the years into higher density high rises. The reason for this not taking place is 38 Oxley Road. Lee Kuan Yew had the building authorities put a moratorium on high rises in his neighbourhood. He liked his privacy, as did his wife and did not want people with binos looking down into his back yard from the high rise. As well, there was the risk of assassination from a sniper. In 1972, the still unsolved case of a Chinese woman shot and killed with a single round, in Queenstown. Ostensibly by a rifled and fired by an assassin as a warning to LKY. For these reasons the surrounding area has been under developed.
But what would happen if 38 Oxley were to be demolished? Yes, the land can be sold to a developer and a condo complex could be build on it. But even more importantly, the moratorium would be lifted. Imagine all those neighbouring locations, so close to Orchard area, developers would be flooding the market trying to en bloc as many of them as they could. Timing is the crucial element here. When to approach the neighbouring properties to sell is dependent on when the house can be demolished. And when the house can be demolished is controlled by Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang.
Very easily, LWL and LHY, along with investors and other parties can quietly start buying up units in the surrounding area using proxies and such, with the view to enblocking them. It does not work for other developers because if they did the same thing, they might have to sit on their investment for 30 years or whenever, until LWL moves out or dies. They have no control over that. But LWL and LHY will know exactly when this will happen. Imagine if they control several stratas and several low rise free hold buildings in the neighbourhood, what kind of windfall will they gain when the moratorium is lifted and Oxley is demolished? They could become instant billionaires.
This is the crux of the argument. LHL and Ho Ching, as per their record of poor investment management and lost opportunities to make money (evidenced by Temasek performances), missed the boat completely on this fantastic opportunity.
1)Ever asked yourself why LHY was willing to pay 150% over market valuation to his brother to take over Oxley? Now you know. LHL thought he was getting a great deal by charging a large premium for the house. He knew his brother and sister wanted to sell the land to condo developers or develop it themselves, so he asked for a lot of money. But his brother snookered him. The much bigger game was to buy as many parcels in the surrounding area as they can.
2)Ever ask yourself why LWL moved back into Oxley? Well, as long as she is in there, the moratorium cannot be lifted on high rises in the area. How would it look if the daughter of LKY was assassinated with a headshot from a sniper in a newly erected highrise behind the Oxley house? Her purpose is to control the timing and to buy time for herself and her brother to accumulate as much of the neighbouring properties as possible. There was never a need for her to move back in. Many people ask why don't she vacate the house immediately and then have it torn down, right after the father died. After all an obedient daughter would want to give the father his last wish. Now we know, that her presence in the house, using the clause her father put in the will to allow her to stay, controls the timing for all en bloc attempts in the area.
3) Ever ask yourself who are these charities that received all the money from the proceeds of sale of Oxley? In fact, no dollar amount was ever revealed with regards to how much it was sold for, much less which charities received the funds. My guess is that they never gave the money away. They are sons of the Great Hakka Jew after all. Its somewhere in LHL’s bank account.
4) Ever wonder why LKY insisted on demolishing the house? He knew the redevelopment potential would be huge and he wanted a windfall for the older son, or who ever ended up with it. There is no mention in his will of memorial garden or giving any money to charity or any prohibition from development. He fully expected the house to be a real estate play after his death. He never gave a send away while he was alive, and neither did his wife. While other rich people donated entire hospitals, he donated jackshit. He has always been about making money, even way back in WW2 where he was blackmarketeering, and making money on other people's misfortune.
Back to why LHY and LWL were pissed at brother LHL. He threatened to gazette the property and set up a Ministerial Committee, after missing out on this golden opportunity. By gazetting the property as a National Heritage site, he will force LWL to move out of the house. When this happens, there will be no more need for the high rise moratorium on the neighbouring properties, and they can be developed into such. And of course when the property gets gazetted will be controlled by LHL, which removes the control element from LWL and LHY. The potential to make money here Is huge. Just My 2 cents.
After having some kopi and bak kut tea and other such things with my kakis, some of whom are rather senior civil serpents, they ask me to consider another reason for this whole mess. As for the money, its not about the 150% of valuation that Yang paid for his share of the house from Loong. In fact, the whole thing could result in multi hundred million dollars just for the right Lee, and billions at the market if they can pull it off.
What do I mean when I say this? Consider the surrounding area of 38 Oxley Road. Have you ever wonder as you drive through the area, why everything is low rise and nothing much is over 5 storey. I mean even relatively recent freehold condos like Oxley Residence, down the road from LKY’s house, developed by Cheong Hooi Hong only has 12 units on 3 or 4 levels, and that piece of land is large. Larger parcels like Valley Mansions at 50 Oxley, is only 5 storeys high on very large lots, and that was build way back in 1970. The same story is every where. When you drive down Lloyd or Eber, or Dublin, you will see many low –rise residences, freehold and all very very ripe for en bloc.
So, why haven’t they been en bloc and developed through the years into higher density high rises. The reason for this not taking place is 38 Oxley Road. Lee Kuan Yew had the building authorities put a moratorium on high rises in his neighbourhood. He liked his privacy, as did his wife and did not want people with binos looking down into his back yard from the high rise. As well, there was the risk of assassination from a sniper. In 1972, the still unsolved case of a Chinese woman shot and killed with a single round, in Queenstown. Ostensibly by a rifled and fired by an assassin as a warning to LKY. For these reasons the surrounding area has been under developed.
But what would happen if 38 Oxley were to be demolished? Yes, the land can be sold to a developer and a condo complex could be build on it. But even more importantly, the moratorium would be lifted. Imagine all those neighbouring locations, so close to Orchard area, developers would be flooding the market trying to en bloc as many of them as they could. Timing is the crucial element here. When to approach the neighbouring properties to sell is dependent on when the house can be demolished. And when the house can be demolished is controlled by Lee Wei Ling and Lee Hsien Yang.
Very easily, LWL and LHY, along with investors and other parties can quietly start buying up units in the surrounding area using proxies and such, with the view to enblocking them. It does not work for other developers because if they did the same thing, they might have to sit on their investment for 30 years or whenever, until LWL moves out or dies. They have no control over that. But LWL and LHY will know exactly when this will happen. Imagine if they control several stratas and several low rise free hold buildings in the neighbourhood, what kind of windfall will they gain when the moratorium is lifted and Oxley is demolished? They could become instant billionaires.
This is the crux of the argument. LHL and Ho Ching, as per their record of poor investment management and lost opportunities to make money (evidenced by Temasek performances), missed the boat completely on this fantastic opportunity.
1)Ever asked yourself why LHY was willing to pay 150% over market valuation to his brother to take over Oxley? Now you know. LHL thought he was getting a great deal by charging a large premium for the house. He knew his brother and sister wanted to sell the land to condo developers or develop it themselves, so he asked for a lot of money. But his brother snookered him. The much bigger game was to buy as many parcels in the surrounding area as they can.
2)Ever ask yourself why LWL moved back into Oxley? Well, as long as she is in there, the moratorium cannot be lifted on high rises in the area. How would it look if the daughter of LKY was assassinated with a headshot from a sniper in a newly erected highrise behind the Oxley house? Her purpose is to control the timing and to buy time for herself and her brother to accumulate as much of the neighbouring properties as possible. There was never a need for her to move back in. Many people ask why don't she vacate the house immediately and then have it torn down, right after the father died. After all an obedient daughter would want to give the father his last wish. Now we know, that her presence in the house, using the clause her father put in the will to allow her to stay, controls the timing for all en bloc attempts in the area.
3) Ever ask yourself who are these charities that received all the money from the proceeds of sale of Oxley? In fact, no dollar amount was ever revealed with regards to how much it was sold for, much less which charities received the funds. My guess is that they never gave the money away. They are sons of the Great Hakka Jew after all. Its somewhere in LHL’s bank account.
4) Ever wonder why LKY insisted on demolishing the house? He knew the redevelopment potential would be huge and he wanted a windfall for the older son, or who ever ended up with it. There is no mention in his will of memorial garden or giving any money to charity or any prohibition from development. He fully expected the house to be a real estate play after his death. He never gave a send away while he was alive, and neither did his wife. While other rich people donated entire hospitals, he donated jackshit. He has always been about making money, even way back in WW2 where he was blackmarketeering, and making money on other people's misfortune.
Back to why LHY and LWL were pissed at brother LHL. He threatened to gazette the property and set up a Ministerial Committee, after missing out on this golden opportunity. By gazetting the property as a National Heritage site, he will force LWL to move out of the house. When this happens, there will be no more need for the high rise moratorium on the neighbouring properties, and they can be developed into such. And of course when the property gets gazetted will be controlled by LHL, which removes the control element from LWL and LHY. The potential to make money here Is huge. Just My 2 cents.
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