Singapore’s 50 Richest
Prized Turfs
BY JANE A. PETERSONI
n June, Kishin RK and his father, Raj Kumar, put the fi nishing touches on
their $1 billion Singapore River “precinct,” which promises to ignite Rob-
ertson Quay’s quiet bend with a new 225-room luxury Hotel InterCon-
tinental and as many as 30 restaurants, including an outlet of the acclaimed
New York City-based Wolfgang’s Steakhouse and 1880, a members-only club,
both still to open. But on a recent evening, this quayside, once an eclectic mix
of midmarket bars and restaurants, was abuzz with expats crowding the 20
eateries already in business.
Th e father-son pair began amassing the prized real estate parcel in 2010
when they snatched a $73 million plot at the adjoining Clarke Quay in a
government auction and went on to build a 442-room Holiday Inn Express.
Th ey acquired the Robertson Quay retail strip and the former 4-star Gal-
lery Hotel in quick succession in 2012 and 2013 from private owners for a
combined $215 million. “Th e Gallery Hotel was the last piece of the puzzle
for the precinct we were trying to create,” says Kishin.
Singapore’s top property tycoons seem to fancy carving out distinct
turfs in their land-scarce nation. Examples abound: Ong Beng Seng’s chic
Four Seasons Hotel on leafy Orchard Boulevard links to his Hilton Hotel
on Orchard Road. Close by is his Forum Shopping Mall. Th e Ng brothers’
prized patch is Marina Bay, which includes the neoclassical Fullerton Hotel,
the Fullerton Bay Hotel and One Fullerton, a smart dining-shopping-offi ce
complex. Strategically linked by walkways and bridges are fi ve properties
in downtown’s Millenia area owned by the Kw e e brothers’ Pontiac Land.
Millenia Walk, fi lled with shops and restaurants, serves their Ritz-Carlton
Millenia Hotel and Conrad Centennial Hotel as well as the Millenia and
Centennial offi ce towers.
Kwek Leng Beng has planted his group’s fl ag fi rmly in the Cuscaden/
Tanglin stretch, where it owns the tony St. Regis Hotel as well as the 190-
room Singapore Edition hotel, which is due to open in 2019. At Sentosa
Cove, Kwek assembled the W Singapore hotel, the retail/restaurant Quayside
Isle and the Residences at W, against which he raised $1.1 billion in a deal
with private equity giant Blackstone and CIMB Bank. But prices at the ultra-
luxury enclave aimed at rich expats have long been in the dumps.