Ravi Chandran
A portfolio of strategically located strata commercial units for sale
- The strata commercial units at both properties are not subject to ABSD or SSD and are well-suited for long-term investment.
Colliers International, on 11 November announced that they will put up a portfolio of strata commercial units for sale via an Expression of Interest (EOI) on Thursday, 12 November 2020.
The portfolio comprises six ground floor strata commercial units at Peninsula Plaza and 11 strata commercial units located on Level 5 at Sim Lim Square.
6 ground floor strata commercial units at Peninsula Plaza
The portfolio of units at Peninsula Plaza is for sale at an indicative price of S$22 million.
Situated at the junction of North Bridge Road and Coleman Street, Peninsula Plaza is within walking distance to the City Hall MRT Interchange station which connects the East-West Line and North-South Line. Located right in the heart of the Civic District with excellent connectivity, Peninsula Plaza is within walking reach from public offices, museums, theatres and other commercial offices.
Mr Steven Tan, Senior Director of Investment Services at Colliers International, said, “Ranging from 452 sq ft to 990 sq ft, these rare 999-year leasehold strata commercial units have a prominent frontage along North Bridge Road, and at various entrances. Enjoying the superb footfall, these units are currently fully tenanted and are excellent for investors who are looking for a stable income.”
11 strata commercial units located on Level 5 at Sim Lim Square
The portfolio of unit at Sim Lim Square has an indicative price of S$20.805 million.
Technology has become ubiquitous and Sim Lim Square comes to mind when one wants to shop for IT gadgets in Singapore. Highly accessible by the Downtown Line, Sim Lim Square is well served by the Rochor MRT station located right at its doorsteps.
Ranging from 291 sq ft to 506 sq ft, these 11 prime units are facing the central atrium with direct access to the escalators.
Mr Tan commented, “Sim Lim Square is located at the centre of the Beach Road/Rochor-Ophir Corridor which is currently undergoing a makeover. With the completion of DUO and surrounding sites undergoing construction such as Guoco Midtown, The M and Shaw Towers adding to the list recently, this area is poised for future development and growth. Hence, Sim Lim Square stands to benefit from the rejuvenation and hence offering potential upside for its investors.”
“There is the flexibility to purchase these 17 strata commercial units collectively or individually,” Mr Tan added.
“As they are commercial properties, foreigners and locals are welcome to purchase without the imposition of Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD) or Seller’s Stamp Duty (SSD), hence well-suited for long term investment.”
The EOI for these properties will close on Thursday, 10 December 2020, at 3pm.
Sim Lim Square is notorious for bad service and dubious sales tactics, but it is also known as the go-to place in Singapore for electronic gadgets.
As early as in 2008, Sim Lim Square shops were busted by the police for selling counterfeit copies of Microsoft Windows.
In April 2013, after the management of Sim Lim Square put up lists of recalcitrant shops as a warning to shoppers, some of these stores resorted to shrinking or removing their names from their signboards. Others even changed their name or got culprits to rip off the list.
The dishonest sales practices of some of the shops in Sim Lim Square was underlined by the Jover Chew saga. Chew set up the electronics shop, Mobile Air, in Sim Lim Square with the sole aim of deceiving his customers with inflated warranty prices. The electronics shop closed following outrage when a video circulated online of a Vietnamese tourist, on his knees begging for a refund from Chew. The Vietnamese had paid $950 for an iPhone 6, but was told he had to add $1,500 in warranty fees.
Chew was sentenced to 33 months’ jail and fined $2,000 in 2015 for his “audacious” scheme of cheating unsuspecting victims while seeking to dodge civil and criminal sanctions.
The impact on the mall’s reputation over customer scams, highlighted by the Jover Chew saga, was so serious that in late 2014 the management of Sim Lim Square appealed to the authorities to “take a tough stand against the recalcitrant retailers”.
Now, scam victims may seek redress through the Sim Lim Square management (who certifies honest retailers through its Star Retailer programme), CASE (Consumer Association of Singapore) or the Small Claims Court.
But not all the shops in Sim Lim Square are infamous. One reviewer in Tripadvisor says, “the trap for most tourists is that they shop at the first two floors because of time restraints. This is where the stores are at the most expensive…(so) start from the top level and look into the back areas because there are some places where you can find some of the oddest and more practical items…As you go down, the market tends to move from the “geek” level to the common user and the prices slowly rise which is a real shame…”
But such honest reviews have failed to lift the fortunes of the retailers in Sim Lim Square. The mall’s bad reputation has affected sales in recent years. As the shops are individually owned, the management is unable to eliminate the errant retailers.
More recently, Sim Lim Square was flagged by the Coalition Against Piracy for selling set-top boxes which enabled them to stream copyrighted programmes such as Game of Thrones or the latest Korean dramas without having to pay for the content. Savvy salesmen at electronics mall Sim Lim Square expertly demonstrate how easy it is to set up and access programmes on the set-top boxes.
The Government does not consider the devices illegal as users can view them legally in websites, such as YouTube and members of public who are interested in buying them, can easily purchase the sets from places such as Sim Lim Square at the price of around $100 and above.
