Chew Shou Zi, CEO of TikTok, is said to be the new owner of a Good Class Bungalow (GCB) in Queen Astrid Park and to join a list of other young tech bosses who have recently bought GCB properties.
According to The Business Times (BT) on Friday, July 30th, Chew, 38, is believed to be in the early stages of purchasing the 31,800 square foot property in the GCB district.
With a purchase price of 86 million US dollars, Chew, who comes from Singapore, is to renovate the existing bungalow on the site, the newspaper reported. The report added that the price is around $ 2,700 psf which is on the higher side.
Chew, 38, took over the helm of TikTok in April and was also the chief financial officer of China’s ByteDance, which owns the video-sharing application.
The Hwa Chong alumnus studied economics at University College London before earning his MBA from Harvard Business School. He also met his wife Vivian Kao at Ivy League College. The couple have two children.
Chew began his banking career at Goldman Sachs before moving to private equity firm DST Investment Management. In 2015 he moved to the Chinese smartphone manufacturer Xiaomi as CFO.
Other tech bosses and GCBs
With his latest purchase, Chew joins a list of other technology CEOs who own a GCB. There are approximately 2,800 GCB lots in Singapore, according to real estate news site 99.co.
To qualify as a GCB, the property must be at least 1,400 m² (approximately 15,070 sq ft) with a maximum height of two floors. Even the house itself should not take up more than 35 percent of the property area. After all, foreigners are not allowed to own good class bungalows.
In July, Grab co-founder Anthony Tan’s family bought a GCB in Bin Tong Park for $ 40 million. The purchase was completed by Tan’s wife, Chloe Tong, BT reported.
That same month, Ian Ang, CEO of gaming chair manufacturer Secretlab, bought two luxury properties worth $ 51 million in a week.
According to EdgeProp, the 28-year-old bought a GCB at 27 Olive Road in the Caldecott Hill Estate for $ 36 million. He also donated $ 15 million for a 7,007 square foot five bedroom triplex penthouse at the Leedon Residence.
Stephen Ho, the vice president of residential services at CBRE Singapore, who brokered both transactions on Ang’s behalf, said the purchases were not impulse buys, but the decisions were made after a two-year search and much thought, EdgeProp reported.
candicecai@asiaone.com
