Daily Briefing: Nassim Road bungalow sold for $230m record price; Y Combinator-backed Aspire raises $44.7m in series A

And three Singapore-listed developers buy remaining 67% interest in an Australian property for $5.23m.

From Reuters:

A Singapore mansion sitting on a sprawling plot of land has been sold for a record $230m (US$167m), the latest in a string of eye-catching property deals in the wealthy city-state.

The home was sold by Winright Investment, whose listed shareholders include tycoon Cheng Wai Keung, chairman of developer Wing Tai Holdings (WTHS.SI), and his wife, according to business and property records reviewed by Reuters.

The 85,000 sqft (7,900 sqm) plot - rare in land-starved Singapore - is near the glitzy Orchard Road shopping belt, the UNESCO-listed Botanic Gardens and where British inventor James Dyson is set to buy his second lavish Singapore property.

Cheng declined to comment via Wing Tai. Records show that the Nassim Road property was transferred to SG Casa, a firm offering trustee and fiduciary services, on July 4.

Read more here.

From DealStreetAsia:

Singapore-based startup Aspire has raised $44.72m (US$32.5m) in a Series A funding round, led by Mass-Mutual Ventures Southeast Asia, a $50m Southeast Asia fund of the US-based MassMutual Ventures (MMV).

The startup, backed by Y Combinator, serves small businesses with inclusive financial services products. Y Combinator is a seed accelerator in the US that invests in select startups twice a year.

The current round of funding also saw the participation of Silicon Valley investor Arc Labs and the startup’s existing investors Y Combinator, Hummingbird and Picus Capital.

The corpus raised will be used by Aspire to boost its financial product offerings and strengthen its local presence, the company said in a statement.

Founded in January 2018 by former Lazada executives, Aspire currently operates across Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam. It is building a scalable marketplace of banking infrastructure that leverages third party financial service providers to create a digital banking experience for its SME customers.

Read more here.

From PropertyGuru:

Three Singapore-listed developers – Heeton Holdings, Lian Beng Group and KSH Holdings – paid $5.23m in cash for the 67% remaining interest in the property at 186, Wickham Street, Fortitude Valley in Brisbane, Australia.

The consortium first invested in the land parcel in 2014, together with Australian seller Marvel Investments, with intent to transform the site into two residential blocks for sale to Asian investors. The development in Brisbane was the first project of all three Singapore partners in Australia.

The latest price included the discharge of a $2.07m shareholder loan. The consideration was arrived at a willing-buyer, willing-seller basis, against the net tangible assets of about $2.87m of the holding company.

Read more here.