Singaporean billionaire the buyer of Suncorp Plaza

Memo Corp, backed by the Singapore billionaire Tay Tee Peng, has emerged as the $395 million purchaser of Suncorp Plaza in Sydney.

The 259 George Street building will be added to his portfolio, which includes the Wynyard Green tower at 11 York Street bought in 2000 from the State Rail Authority and the office block at 1 Oxford Street.

Industry sources suggested Memo Corporation Australia had previously been valued with about $600 million in property holdings.

Tay Tee Peng sold the former Telecom building in Melbourne’s William Street legal district earlier this year for $45 million. The 21-storey building, known as Communications House when Telecom moved out in 1994, has been bought in 1994 for $12 million. He spent $10 million refurbishing it, but it was vacant for all its ownership. It was bought by Hengyi Australia, a local subsidiary of a Chinese property developer.

CBRE senior director of institutional investment properties Josh Cullen says the $359 million transaction was a strong result and achieved the goals of both parties.

The combined wealth of Singapore's top 40 richest rose 19% or US$8.7 billion year-on-year to US$54.4 billion, according to the latest rich list published by Forbes Asia.

This year, a minimum net worth of US$210 million was needed to qualify for the list, up from $190 million previously.

This ranking, unlike the Forbes billionaires list, includes numerous family fortunes shared with children, grandchildren or siblings.

Memo Corp was established in 1991, and now has a diverse portfolio of 16 properties.