View of Balestier Road. (Photo by Terence Ong / Wikimedia Commons)
Singapore-listed developer SingHaiyi must first complete the development of the City Suites project before it can be allowed to sell its stake, reported The Straits Times.
The Controller of Residential Property recently rejected SingHaiyi’s application for approval on the proposed sale of the condominium project in Balesteir to Ang Cheng Guan Construction.
Last April, the developer announced plans to sell Corporate Residence, which is the developer of City Suites, for $16.38 million “in view of the possible levy as a result of the Qualifying Certificate on unsold units”.
It revealed that the 56-unit development witnessed slow sales progress at around 10 percent since its launch in May 2013.
Meanwhile, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) explained that the application was rejected in order “to ensure that the developer fulfils its obligations to complete the development under the Qualifying Certificate (QC)”.
The rule mandates that developers should complete a project and obtain the Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) within five years from the date of issuance of the QC – which needs to be obtained by foreign developers to acquire private residential land in Singapore.
The estimated TOP for the City Suites project is this year.
“We are working closely with the main contractor to come up with the project timeline,” said a SingHaiyi spokesman.
Under the QC conditions, a developer cannot transfer its shares without prior approval from the Controller until all units have been sold or when the TOP has been issued, whichever comes later, said Lee Liat Yeang, partner at Rodyk & Davidson.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
