Frasers Property, the arm of Thai billionaire Charoen Sirivadhanabhakdi, has put the rear block of The Centrepoint mall on Orchard Road up for a collective sale at a guide price of S$418 million, a deal that includes 66 residential apartments and 66 retail units and values the site at about S$2,709 per square foot per plot ratio. This is not small change; it’s a clear signal that prime, well-located real estate still commands global capital and fierce competition in Asia’s most expensive markets.
Buyers will also be handed a heavy government bill: an estimated S$260 million land betterment charge to top up the lease to 99 years and unlock fuller development potential up to a plot ratio of 5.6. That kind of state-imposed surcharge is a reminder that private enterprise pays steep fees simply to play by urban planners’ rules in heavily regulated markets.
The plot being offered sits on about 44,700 square feet with roughly 52 years remaining on its current lease, and can be redeveloped into a mixed-use block up to 10 storeys with a maximum gross floor area near 250,320 square feet. The public tender runs through February 26, 2026, giving developers a narrow window to decide whether to outbid rivals and swallow the lease-topup cost for a rare Orchard Road address.
This sale comes against the backdrop of surging demand for central residential land in Singapore, where home prices reached fresh record highs in 2025 and developers have been scrambling to replenish land banks. Markets reward clarity, location, and limited supply, and investors are voting with their wallets in a way free-market patriots should admire even from afar.
Let’s be blunt: when global billionaires and private developers are willing to mobilize hundreds of millions to reshape city centers, it proves that entrepreneurship still moves nations forward. But it also exposes the ugly side of heavy-handed urban policy that extracts enormous levies from dealmakers, a practice that too often inflates costs and gets passed down to everyday people. Free markets work best when governments set fair rules, not when they become institutionalized toll booths on development.
The involvement of Charoen’s Frasers Property underscores how international capital flows into well-run, high-demand markets; his family’s business moves make headlines because they reveal where serious money believes value will be created. Americans who worry their own cities are losing out should pay attention: smart reforms to permit more building and cut unnecessary levies will attract investment, create jobs, and keep housing attainable for middle-class families.
In short, this is a story of private capital seizing opportunity, not waiting on permission slips from planners who tack on massive betterment charges. If Washington and local leaders want to foster prosperity, they should stop punishing investment and start clearing the way for responsible development that rewards hard work and builds real wealth for communities.
