Developers still cautious on landbanking in latest Jurong tender

The price was 3.3% lower than previous bids for an adjacent site.

Developers remained cautious on buying up too much land, although the Urban Redevelopment Authority’s latest land parcel tender garnered nine bids.

The tender for Jurong West Street 41 (Parcel B) closed yesterday with MCL emerging as the top bidder with a tendered price of $338m or $630psf.

Although nine seems like a healthy number, Nomura analyst Min Chow Sai noted that there were twelve bidders for the adjacent Parcel A, which was also won by MCL in January 2013.

Moreover, the tendered price was 3.3% lower than MCL’s bid for Parcel A, in spite of its good location and MCL’s established presence in the area.

“It is apparent to us that developers have turned cautious because (excluding MCL Land) the second-highest bid to the lowest narrowed by 31ppt to 43% compared with 74% in the Parcel A tender,” he noted.