Singapore’s soaring property prices are no big deal for the ultra-wealthy, who are snapping up real estate like a real-life game of Monopoly.
On Wednesday (21 Feb), The Business Times (BT) reported that a woman named Zhang Ying had purchased three Tanjong Pagar shophouses.
Zhang Ying, by the way, is none other than the wife of Chinese billionaire and Alibaba Group co-founder Jack Ma.
Source: Sohu
She was said to have spent between S$45 million to S$50 million on the shophouses.
According to BT, Zhang, a Singapore citizen, purchased three adjoining shophouses at 70, 71, and 72 Duxton Road.
The properties have 99-year leasehold tenures that began in September 1988, which means about 63.5 years are remaining.
Source: Google Maps
BT noted that the purported transaction amount of S$45 million to S$50 million surpasses the typical market rate for conservation shophouses in that district.
Covering a land area of 3,239 sq ft, the three-storey houses are in the midst of renovations, which the Urban Redevelopment Authority had approved.
The ground floor will reportedly be converted into a restaurant space, while the upper levels will house offices.
This supposedly isn’t Ma’s first dabble in the real estate market here.
Source: Reuters
In 2019, rumours began swirling that Ma had begun developing a two-storey bungalow in Victoria Park Close.
The neighbourhood is famous for its Good Class Bungalows (GCBs). However, it’s unclear if he ever completed the project.
Ma and Zhang met as students at the Hangzhou Teacher’s Institute and got married after graduating in the late 1980s.
Source: Baidu
When Ma founded Alibaba in 1999, she became his business partner and was one of the company’s first employees.
In 2004, she stepped down as the general manager of Alibaba’s China headquarters to focus on looking after their two children.
As of 21 Feb, Alibaba Group has an estimated net worth of US$187.85 billion (S$252.4 billion).
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Featured image adapted from Sohu and Clifton Partners.
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