THE ninth floor of the freehold Solitaire on Cecil development has been sold for S$51.48 million, or S$4,130 per square foot based on the strata area of 12,465 sq ft.

The buyer, Singapore-incorporated Long Twinkle Trading, is involved with the wholesale of metals and metal ores. The company is wholly owned by Shanghai Langning Trading Co, the address of which is in the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone.

According to Bloomberg, a Shanghai Langning Trade Co operates as a metal company; it manufactures and sells copper, zinc, aluminium and other related products.

Long Twinkle Trading, set up in November 2022, recently entered into a sale and purchase agreement for the ninth floor of Solitaire on Cecil.

The strata office and retail project was previously reported to have been fully sold. But late last year, three office floors – including the ninth – were put back on the market by the developer.

Word on the street is that the parties hailing from Fujian that had initiated the process to purchase the three floors – levels 8, 9 and 13 – were linked to the Singapore police probe into the S$3 billion money laundering case.

Solitaire on Cecil is being developed by a tie-up between TE Capital Partners and LaSalle Investment Management on the former PIL Building site. Strata sales began early last year; by mid-June, buyers were found for all 15 office floors and both restaurant units in the 20-storey development.

Except for level 6, which went for S$3,865 psf, the other 14 office floors in the development fetched above S$4,000 psf. The highest price of S$4,325 psf was for the penthouse office floor on level 20.

Office floors in the 127-metre-high project are mostly either 12,465 sq ft or 13,132 sq ft.

The Business Times understands that level 8, which is also 12,465 sq ft, is now the subject of due diligence by a potential buyer. Level 13 has a strata area of 13,132 sq ft.

In total, Solitaire on Cecil will have about 190,000 sq ft of office space, and two strata restaurant units at street level. The development will have dual frontages on Cecil Street and Stanley Street.