Tag Archives: Nepal Hill

NEW LEASE OF LIFE The bungalows, formerly housing British army personnel, are near to Biopolis

SINGAPORE is planning to create its own hedge-fund capital modelled after Greenwich, Connecticut, in a cluster of ex-British army homes called Nepal Hill, a 15- minute cab-ride from the city-state’s main banking district.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore and JTC Corp – the government agency developing and marketing the project in Nepal Hill – quietly asked hedge fund managers in January to visit the district’s so-called black-and-white bungalows, named for their white-washed walls and dark timber frames, according to a copy of the invitation obtained by Bloomberg News.

Singapore is seeking to attract firms planning to expand in the region as Asia leads the global economic recovery and the US and Europe increase regulation. The proposed cluster follows tax and regulatory incentives that have made it easier for funds to set up shop on the island than in Asian cities such as Hong Kong and Tokyo, helping the industry grow from near zero in 1997 to almost 140 firms today.

Aisling Analytics Pte will ‘certainly look at it as a potential location’ when its lease at Suntec City, next to the central business district, comes up for renewal, said Michael Coleman, the hedge-fund firm’s managing director.

‘I’ve visited and think it’s a very interesting development and a great alternative to a traditional office,’ he said. ‘You’re surrounded by greenery, have your own garden to enjoy and the area is rapidly developing.’

The downside is that it’s ‘off the beaten track’ for investors used to meeting in Singapore’s main office districts, Mr Coleman said. Aisling manages the US$1.6 billion Merchant Commodity Fund and the Merchant Equity Fund.

Rents in Singapore, the most expensive in Asia after Tokyo and Hong Kong, fell 46 per cent, on average, in the fourth quarter, the steepest decline in the region from a year earlier, according to Boston-based commercial real estate company Colliers International. The average top-grade office monthly rental in Singapore’s central business district fell to an average of $6.29 (US$4.50) per square foot in the last quarter, Colliers said in a report last month.

JTC could lure managers by making rents at Nepal Hill ‘very attractive, at least at the beginning’, said Stephane Pizzo, who set up his hedge-fund investing firm, Lotus Peak Capital, last year. He said that he has yet to view the proposed enclave because the space offered was ‘too large’ for his business. He currently works from a refurbished shophouse in Chinatown where more than half a dozen Italian restaurants are within walking distance of his office.

‘The hub idea on paper is great, but it needs to be encouraged,’ Mr Pizzo said. ‘The more people and incentives to move there, the better.’

Nepal Hill is part of a development called ‘one-north’, referring to Singapore’s location one degree north of the equator, that is already home to industry clusters including Singapore’s biomedical research hub, Biopolis. The 180-hectare area will be developed in stages within the next 20 years, JTC said in the invitation to managers.

The bungalows, which formerly housed British army personnel and their families, are remnants of Singapore’s history under British colonial rule. The proposed enclave is across the road from the Rochester Park dining hub, where restaurants such as Min Jiang, which serves Szechuan cuisine, and bars including Da Paolo Bistro Bar are also housed in colonial bungalows.

The island-state’s hedge fund industry has grown to 138 single-strategy hedge-fund managers employing more than 800 professionals from near zero in 1997, according to a survey by the local chapter of the Alternative Investment Management Association.

The industry oversees at least US$34.9 billion, excluding assets managed by several of the large global firms, it said, making it Asia’s second biggest behind Hong Kong.

Source : Business Times – 6 Mar 2010

one-north site may turn into hedge-fund capital

THE cluster of 16 black-and-white bungalows in Buona Vista was once home to British troops stationed in colonial Singapore. But the rustic area, called Nepal Hill, may soon turn into the country’s newest financial district.

JTC Corporation – the agency developing and marketing Nepal Hill – said in a statement yesterday that it is in talks with investment managers about the site.

‘Nepal Hill is one of the heritage areas within one-north,’ it said. ‘It is also an alternative location for investment managers which is envisioned to strengthen Singapore’s value proposition as a premier asset management centre in Asia.’

Bloomberg News reported yesterday that Singapore is planning to create its own hedge-fund capital modelled after Greenwich, a town in the United States with a high concentration of hedge funds.

Hedge funds are large privately-run investment funds that have increasingly dominated the global investment scene in recent years.

Bloomberg said the Monetary Authority of Singapore and JTC Corp had courted fund managers by inviting them to visit Nepal Hill at a networking event in January.

The site is part of one-north, JTC Corp’s 200 ha innovation and research hub, which includes science and technology research centre Fusionopolis and biomedical hub Biopolis.

JTC Corp said two years ago that the bungalows – commonly referred to as black-and-whites due to their white-washed walls and black frames – were being refurbished for ‘adaptive use’.

But the rare and lush enclave, just a 14-minute train-ride from Raffles Place and across the road from trendy dining spots in Rochester Park, could offer hedge funds and other high-end financial service providers an alternative to concrete skyscrapers downtown.

With Asia leading the global economic recovery, Singapore continues to be an attractive location for firms looking to expand in the region.

JTC Corporation, the agency developing and marketing Nepal Hill, said it is in talks with investment managers about the site. The cluster of 16 black-and-white bungalows at the lush enclave, part of JTC Corp’s one-north development, was once home to British troops stationed in colonial Singapore. — ST PHOTO: CAROLINE CHIA

The proposed increase in regulation by Western authorities, coupled with tax and regulatory incentives here make it more appealing for hedge funds to operate in the Lion City.

Details are still sketchy as far as rental rates and how the site will be further developed are concerned, but the response from hedge funds have been mixed so far.

Aisling Analytics’ Michael Coleman told Bloomberg his firm will look at Nepal Hill as a potential location when its lease at Suntec City is up for renewal. ‘I’ve visited and think it’s a very interesting development and a great alternative to a traditional office,’ said the hedge fund managing director.

‘You’re surrounded by greenery, have your own garden to enjoy and the area is rapidly developing.’

However, Man Investments’ executive director Timothy Peach, who has also visited the site, feels that Nepal Hill would not work for his company, which is based at One George Street. ‘Almost all of our clients are based in the CBD, and we have to be close to them,’ said Mr Peach, who lives in a black-and-white off Tanglin Road.

‘It’s a nice little idea but definitely not suitable for us because we’re one of the largest hedge fund companies in the world employing some 1,500 people globally.’

Source : Straits Times – 6 Mar 2010