Malaysia’s Public Bank heiress buys Tanglin Hill good class bungalow for $93.9m

SINGAPORE – A Singapore luxury mansion has been purchased at a record price per square foot by a scion of the family which backs one of Malaysia’s largest banks.

The $93.9 million purchase of a good class bungalow under construction in the Tanglin Hill area was completed in February, according to property records seen by Bloomberg News.

It was bought by Ms Diona Teh Li Shian, a daughter of late tycoon Teh Hong Piow, who founded Public Bank.

Good class bungalows are highly coveted in land-scarce Singapore, with only about 2,800 available, and their ownership is largely restricted to locals.

The purchased property is located near the main Orchard Road shopping belt and various embassies. It sits on a plot of about 15,150 sq ft or 1,408 sq m. Based on the transacted price, it was sold for a record rate of about $6,197 psf. The Business Times reported on the deal’s early stages in July.

Ms Teh did not immediately respond to a query sent by Bloomberg News.

Meir Homes, a local developer of good class bungalows, is building the new mansion on the plot, which was acquired for $30 million in 2022, according to property records. Its principal Sebestian Soh, declined to comment.

The new two-story house with a basement has a total floor area of 2,756 sq m. It will include Japanese oak in its interior and imported materials from Europe, as well as stone cladding on the outside, according to marketing materials seen by Bloomberg News. The property will also have a 25m pool with a tanning deck, a walk-in wine chiller and an 18-seat theatre.

Ms Teh, a Singapore citizen, is one of four children of the late Mr Teh.

Public Bank has since grown into Malaysia’s second-biggest lender, by market value. Ms Teh has been a public face of the family since the patriarch died in 2022. The family still controls over a fifth of the bank’s shares, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Bloomberg