Hong Kong billionaire clan Keswick bet on Singapore property boom with $422M stake acquisition

Singapore-listed Hongkong Land purchased the stake from Warburg Pincus-backed ESR Group for SGD541 million ($422 million) in cash, it said in a recent statement.

It added that rental income from Suntec REIT’s prime assets in the city-state will help diversify its earnings profile.

“The acquisition enables Hongkong Land to deploy recently recycled capital into prime, income producing commercial assets predominantly located in Singapore,” it said.

“This aligns with the company’s positive outlook and conviction in Singapore’s prime commercial property market.”

“The transaction reinforces investor confidence and positive outlook on Grade A office assets in Singapore amidst tight demand-supply dynamics,” said Vijay Natarajan, an analyst at RHB Bank in Singapore, as reported by Forbes.

“A prolonged war in the Middle East could slow down the economy and increase inflation, which will have a negative impact on office demand. However, this could be potentially offset by increased demand from Singapore’s rising safe haven appeal.”

Investor appetite for Singapore commercial real estate remains strong, with the city-state ranking among the world’s most expensive markets.

Investment volumes in hotels, offices and retail properties rose 18% to SGD33.9 billion in 2025, the highest level in eight years, driven by lower interest rates, according to consultancy CBRE.

Ben Keswick, executive chairman of Jardine Matheson, which controls Hongkong Land Holdings. Photo courtesy of Jardine Matheson

Suntec REIT’s portfolio includes office and retail assets across Singapore’s central business district, including a one-third stake in both Marina Bay Financial Centre (Towers 1 & 2) and One Raffles Quay.

The Singapore Central Private Real Estate Fund, majority owned by Hongkong Land, also holds a one-third stake in these properties.

“Hongkong Land’s stake acquisition in Suntec REIT signals that despite heightened geopolitical risk from the Middle East, institutional capital continues to view Singapore’s prime commercial property as a safe haven, income-generating asset class,” said Darren Chan, an analyst at Phillip Securities.

“Rather than retreating, sophisticated investors like Hongkong Land are deploying capital, albeit more selectively, through liquid, asset-light structures such as REITs, reflecting cautious but intact conviction, he added.

Tang Organization – controlled by tycoon Gordon Tang and his wife Celina – is the largest shareholder of Suntec REIT with a 36% stake and fully owns the REIT’s manager.

In an interview with The Business Times in early March, Hongkong Land chief financial officer Craig Beattie said that having recycled 90% of its $4 billion target and cut net debt by 30%, the group now has ample balance-sheet headroom for new investments.

Hongkong Land manages more than $50 billion in assets, with flagship properties in Hong Kong, Singapore and Shanghai. The company focuses on developing, owning and managing mixed-use real estate across Asian gateway cities, spanning office, luxury retail, residential and hospitality segments, with a footprint exceeding 1.8 million square meters.

It is controlled by Jardine Matheson, the nearly two-century-old Hong Kong-based conglomerate and flagship of the Keswick family, which ranked 22nd among the 50 richest Hong Kong billionaires this year with a net worth of $4.6 billion, according to Forbes.