Daily Briefing: Banks step up hiring of priority bankers; Good class bungalow sold for $93.9m

And here’s what Punggol residents can look forward to in the upcoming Punggol Town Hub.

From e-financial careers:

Asian private banks in Singapore and Hong Kong are pumping up hiring efforts amidst skill shortages for priority bankers who can manage ‘mass affluent’ clients that have investments worth $138,000 to $1.38m.

Most of this 'hiring' is done via internal promotions at large firms – Citi, DBS, HSBC and UOB, for example – that boast both priority and private banking units. Standard Chartered is understood to upgrade about 10 priority bankers a year in Singapore alone, according to an industry source.

Because priority bankers can only bring their wealthiest clients to the private bank, they also face tough revenue targets, says Pathik Gupta, an associate partner at consultancy McLagan in Singapore.

Despite the failure rate, hiring priority bankers can pay dividends for banks. “When UBS took on about 100 of them from Citi, HSBC and the like in China about four years ago only about 35 were successful,” says a Singapore headhunter who asked not to be named. “But the salaries of the 65 others were low anyway and the bank took on their clients when they left – so it worked out.”

Read more here.

From iCompare Loan: 

A 52,059 sq ft freehold good class bungalow (GCB) in Dalvey Road was sold for $93.9m or roughly $1,804 psf to a Singaporean member of a rich Taiwanese family.

Formerly owned by Lim Kim San, the freehold GCB which may be subdivided into three bungalow plots was reportedly sold to a Singaporean member of the Tsai family of Taiwan. The late patriarch of the Tsai family, Tsai Wan-lin, was Taiwan’s richest person at the time of his death in 2004, according to Forbes.

Prominent local personalities like Glen Goei had previously occupied the freehold good class bungalow, but the house was vacant at the time it was put up for sale.

The freehold good class bungalow was expected to fetch prices above $100 million. The bungalow’s proximity to Botanic Gardens and its large plot size, as well as it being situated on high grounds are all cited as reasons for the high price tag.

Read more here.

From Channel News Asia:

The Punggol Town Hub (PTH) which is set to open by 2021 will feature a new hawker centre and a library for Punggol residents. 

The integrated which is managed by the People’s Association (PA) will revamped Punggol Vista CC which will be about seven times the size of the current void deck. PTH will also include a childcare centre and multiple health service centres.

The 42,300 sq m hub will be located opposite Waterway Point, and next to the upcoming Punggol Regional Sports Centre. It will also be connected to Punggol MRT, Punggol Town Square and Sam Kee LRT Station.

Read more here.