Ho Bee Land—controlled by Singaporean billionaire Chua Thian Poh—is buying a property in Queensland for A$318.5 million ($220 million), doubling down its investments in Australia amid a housing boom Down Under.
Billionaire Chua Thian Poh, executive chairman of Ho Bee Land, which is ramping up investments in Australia.
Nicky Loh for Forbes Asia
The Singapore-based real estate company said in a statement that it can develop as many as 1,400 residential lots, along with a mix of 64 business and industrial properties, on the 181.4 hectare (1.8 million square meter) plot, located in the City of Moreton Bay, north of Greater Brisbane in Southeast Queensland.
Ho Bee Land said the site is part of a “key growth corridor” with direct access to the Bruce Highway—a major thoroughfare linking Brisbane to Cairns—and near established employment, residential and logistics precincts.
The company’s shares gained 1.3% in Singapore afternoon trading.
The property is Ho Bee Land’s latest acquisition in Australia where it bought five sites for A$96.6 million last November that it expects to yield 1,079 residential lots.
Three of the sites are in Queensland while the other two are in southeastern state of Victoria.
Ho Bee Land has been ramping up its presence in Australia, where national median home prices set a fresh record of A$1.3 million last year as rising migration boosted population growth in the country, according to property portal Domain Australia.
Chua—a high school dropout who started making hooks and spikes for the logging industry—has $1.5 billion in real time net worth, making him one of Singapore’s richest tycoons. He started Ho Bee Land in 1987, which became known for building high-end condos in Sentosa, Singapore’s island resort.
The company now has over $7 billion in assets and 35 developments in four countries. Its diversified portfolio includes iconic office buildings in London and Munich.
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