Sea billionaire’s wife to buy Singapore mansion for $31 million

Bloomberg

Updated 23 April 2024 at 12:48 am·2-min read

The wife of tech billionaire Forrest Li is set to acquire a mansion in one of Singapore’s most coveted residential areas, even as the luxury property market remains in a lull. (PHOTO: EdgeProp)

By Nurin Sofia and Low De Wei

(Bloomberg) — The wife of tech billionaire Forrest Li is set to acquire a mansion in one of Singapore’s most coveted residential areas, even as the luxury property market remains in a lull.

Ma Liqian filed an option in April to buy a so-called good class bungalow on Gallop Road for S$42.5 million ($31 million), according to documents seen by Bloomberg News. The house sits on a 1,552 square-meter (16,706 square-foot) plot of land.

Li owns a 1,403 square-meter land parcel next to the mansion, near the Singapore Botanic Gardens, a World Heritage Site. That was acquired in 2019, property records show.

A Sea spokesperson declined to comment.

While nearly 80% of Singaporeans live in government-subsidized apartments, the upper echelons vie for good class bungalows, which are valued for their rarity and size. The sector has cooled down after the city-state’s biggest money laundering scandal and high interest rates weighed on the market.

The sale, by a family surnamed Ku, adds to a handful of transactions recently. This includes a S$36 million sale at Cornwall Gardens and a separate mansion at Ford Avenue being bought for S$39.5 million by a scion of the Wee family, Singapore’s richest banking dynasty.

China-born Li’s fortune is primarily derived from his stake in Sea Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest internet company. His wealth took a dive during a recent tech downturn, but recovered slightly after his company recorded its first full-year profit since listing.

Once Singapore’s richest person, Li now has a net worth of $3.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

—With assistance from Olivia Poh.

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