A PGIM fund invested by Quadreal had purchased 78 Shenton Way in 2018 (Image: Google)
A string of major property purchases in Singapore looks set to continue with Robert Kuok’s Allgreen Properties in exclusive due diligence to buy an office building in the city-state’s central business district from PGIM Real Estate, according to sources familiar with the discussions who spoke with Mingtiandi.
The Singaporean developer is preparing to purchase 78 Shenton Way in the Tanjong Pagar area for more than S$600 million ($468 million), the sources indicated, confirming earlier reporting by the Business Times. PGIM representatives declined to comment and Allgreen had yet to respond to inquiries from Mingtiandi by the time of publication.
Should Allgreen follow through on its pursuit of 78 Shenton Way, which had failed to find a buyer in earlier marketing campaigns in the past three years, the transaction would mark the latest sign of a rebound in deal activity in Singapore, after transactions totalling around S$2.7 billion in income-earning properties were announced in the Lion City during December, with January on track for over S$1.4 billion in deals.
A successful deal would further expand Allgreen’s portfolio in its home city, with the company having acquired an East Coast condo site in November, after picking up both residential and commercial properties in 2024.
Buyer Appetites Return
The prospective purchase would give Allgreen a pair of office towers – one completed in 1988 and the second in 2009 – with a total of 362,000 square feet (33,630 square metres) of net lettable area. The complex occupies a 71,000 square foot site which has around 56 years remaining on its 99-year leasehold.
Robert Kuok’s Allgreen has been expanding its Singapore portfolio
A fund managed by PGIM Real Estate had paid S$680 million to acquire the complex from a Keppel-managed fund in 2018 before putting down another S$20 million once the Keppel vehicle had won redevelopment approvals for the site. The PGIM fund is said to have primarily been invested by Quadreal Real Estate, the property division of the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation.
PGIM had been shopping Shenton Way at its original acquisition cost in 2023 and 2024, before lowering the asking price last year, market sources told Mingtiandi. JLL is said to be advising PGIM Real Estate on the disposal.
While a new project on the site could qualify for development of up to an additional 30 percent of floor area under Singapore’s CBD Incentive Scheme, Allgreen is said to be intending to hold the property long term and does not currently have plans for a new project on the site.
Located at the southern fringe of Singapore’s traditional business district, 78 Shenton Way connects to the Prince Edward Road station, which is expected to open on the MRT’s Circle Line before the end of June. The property, which fronts Keppel Viaduct to the south and Anson Road to the west, will also benefit from the Greater Southern Waterfront, a government initiative to redevelop the port areas immediately south of 78 Shenton Way.
Market Rebound
The sale by PGIM is surfacing less than a week after US developer and fund manager Hines agreed to purchase the Bukit Panjang Plaza mall in northwestern Singapore from CapitaLand Integrated Commercial Trust for S$428 million ($332.4 million).
Market sources also confirmed to Mingtiandi that entities controlled by Andre Tanoto, son of Indonesian tycoon Sukanto Tanoto, are in due diligence to acquire the i12 mall in the Katong neighbourhood on Singapore’s East Coast from Keppel Ltd for more than S$350 million, with those discussions also having previously been reported by the Business Times.
Should the 78 Shenton Way and i12 deals be signed off this month, combined with the Hines Bukit Panjang Plaza acquisition, the transactions would total around S$1.4 billion in deals, with analysts pointing to both lower interest rates and rising rents as catalysts for more market activity this year.
With the 435,000 square foot Shaw Tower representing the only new office project set to open in Singapore’s central business district this year, JLL is predicting that grade A rents in the city-state will rise 4 to 5 percent in 2026, helping to whet investor appetite for assets.
After benchmark interest rates fell by more than two-thirds in 2025, Singapore saw a surge of major property transactions in the year’s closing weeks, including Hongkong Land selling a one-third stake in Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3 to Keppel REIT in December for S$1.45 billion.
Also last month, Chinese-backed investment firm Elegant Group agreed to purchase the Clementi Mall in western Singapore from Temasek Holdings’ Cuscaden Peak Investments for S$809 million and Brookfield signed a deal to acquire an industrial portfolio in the city-state from ESR-REIT for S$338 million.
Including additional smaller deals, more than S$2.7 billion in institutional-scale Singapore properties changed hands in December, by Mingtiandi’s tally, with the potential for the December-January total to reach more than S$4 billion should pending deals be consummated.
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