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SCMP’s Asia desk

The son of Malaysia’s king has dismissed a report that a potential tax bill of more than S$2 billion (US$1.6 billion) is complicating his plans to sell 16.6 hectares (41 acres) of land in Singapore, saying he was “more than happy” to absorb levies on both sides of the causeway.
“As a regular taxpayer, this is normal. No complication and more than happy to contribute to both countries. Should make it double,” Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim posted on social media on Thursday, hours after the Bloomberg report emerged.
The crown prince of Johor, Malaysia’s closest state to Singapore, even cheekily added the hashtag #gameisrigged, which he often uses when criticising football-related issues.
According to the report, Ismail is looking to sell a 16.6-hectare site in Singapore’s Tyersall Park area, where the Johor royal family has owned land for more than a century.
The plot, which reportedly included a parcel the prince obtained through a land swap with the Singapore government last year, would be worth between S$3.8 billion and S$4.7 billion if rezoned, Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at local property portal Mogul.sg, told Bloomberg.
Singapore’s Urban Redevelopment Authority said Ismail had applied to develop the land for residential use in March. It proposed rezoning the land to allow for the development of mansions known as good class bungalows and low-rise housing.

Under Singapore law, rezoning a property would incur a levy known as a land betterment charge. Mak estimated this could range from S$2.5 billion to S$2.7 billion while another analyst, Tay Kah Poh, first vice-president of the Valuation and General Practice Division of the Singapore Institute of Surveyors and Valuers, said it could be as high as S$3 billion.
The tax, payable to the Singapore Land Authority, would have to be settled by the land’s owner at the time its development is approved.
Bloomberg reported that the prince was asking the buyer to foot the bill, resulting in some Singaporean and Malaysian property developers balking at the additional cost. As a result, Ismail’s representatives were looking for buyers from the US and elsewhere, its sources said.
Ismail is the eldest son of Sultan Ibrahim Iskandar, Malaysia’s current king and one of the country’s richest men. The Johor royal family has a net worth of around US$5.7 billion, according to a Bloomberg estimate.
A sports enthusiast, Ismail owns Johor Darul Ta’zim football club and was president of the Football Association of Malaysia (FAM) from 2017 to 2018. Last November, when the FAM was embroiled in a scandal involving seven heritage players, the prince said he would absorb the cost of bringing their case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.


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Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who is reportedly looking to sell a 16.6-hectare site in Singapore, says he is willing to absorb levies in both countries


Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who is reportedly looking to sell a 16.6-hectare site in Singapore, says he is willing to absorb levies in both countries.


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Tunku Ismail Idris

Malaysian prince ‘more than happy’ to pay US$1.6 billion levy linked to Singapore land deal

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who is reportedly looking to sell a 16.6-hectare site in Singapore, says he is willing to absorb levies in both countries

Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, who is reportedly looking to sell a 16.6-hectare site in Singapore, says he is willing to absorb levies in both countries