Last month, the Singapore government announced some property cooling measures that are meant to “promote a sustainable property market”.
With it, foreigners in Singapore must pay double the previous Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) rate.
However, this didn’t stop one Indonesian billionaire from purchasing a condominium unit with a 60% ABSD.
Her new property in Newton amounted to S$21 million — of which about a third was spent on the ABSD.
As it turns out, 72-year-old Dewi Kam is among Indonesia’s richest.
EdgeProp reported that the billionaire signed the contract for the Scotts HighPark condo unit on 18 May.
Source: Google Maps
She is reportedly one of the first few foreigners to purchase a property in Singapore after the latest round of ABSD hikes.
Although the property was listed at S$12.68 million, Madam Kam paid way more than that.
As a foreigner, she likely paid the 6% buyer’s stamp duty, which amounted to S$760,800.
Apart from that, the billionaire also shelled out around S$7.608 million for the ABSD.
Hence, the total amount comes up to S$21.0488 million for the four-bedder condo in Newton.
At S$3,084 psf, the 4,112 sq ft unit boasts the highest price recorded for the condo since its launch in 2006.
According to Forbes, Madam Kam has a net worth of US$3.5 billion (S$4.7 billion).
Source: Karmapa News
The Jakarta native gets most of her wealth from a minority stake in Indonesia’s coal miner, Bayan Resources.
CNN Indonesia reported that the 72-year-old is the seventh richest person in Indonesia as of April this year.
Apart from her 10% share in Bayan Resources, she is the owner of Sumbergas Sakti Prima.
In 2022, she appeared on the Forbes list as one of Indonesia’s 50 Richest in 21st place.
With her wealth, it’s no wonder that the eye-watering ABSD wasn’t a deterrence to the billionaire.
Plus, the property is not a bad find in terms of location.
Situated at 45 Scotts Road, the condominium is just a stone’s throw away from the Orchard Road shopping district.
At that price, we hope Madam Kam really enjoys her big purchase.
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps and Google Maps.
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