Singapore tycoon Oei Hong Leong says Canada property lawsuit had nothing to do with Li Ka-shing
- Vancouver-based developer Concord Pacific, which was once controlled by the Hong Kong billionaire, lost its suit against Oei last week
- Oei said questions he had fielded about the developer compelled him to clarify there was ‘no fight’ between him and Li
Oei, who at 71 is worth an estimated US$1.5 billion according to this year’s Forbes billionaires list, said he had fielded questions about the ownership of Concord Pacific Acquisitions, part of Concord Pacific Group, that sued him at the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
Li once controlled the company and during that period, sold Oei the Plaza of Nations site on Vancouver’s waterfront for C$40 million (US$33 million) in 1989. Li sold his stake in Concord Pacific in the 1990s to the family of the company’s current CEO and president Terry Hui.
“People keep asking me if Concord is owned by Li Ka-shing … yes, I bought the land from Mr Li,” Oei told This Week in Asia, adding with a chuckle that the deal was concluded in “five minutes”.
“But we are good friends, there is no fight between us. Every time I come to Hong Kong, we have lunch together.”
Oei said he had known Li since 1974 and that the tycoon was the second-largest shareholder in the company he set up in Hong Kong in 1990 to invest in China. Oei has since sold his interests in Hong Kong and the mainland, though his family investments and business dealings are still done through Hong Kong companies.
I went through the Cultural Revolution. This is a storm in a teacup
Oei, the son of late Indonesian-Chinese billionaire Eka Tjipta Widjaja, moved to China as a teenager for his education and lived through the country’s political violence and social upheaval during the 1960s and 70s.
He was even sent to work on a farm at one point, but forged ties with some of the men there who later became officials.
Legal battles
Concord sued Oei and his associated company in October 2015 for refusing to honour an agreement relating to the redevelopment of the Plaza of Nations site.
An entertainment complex on the site, originally built for the Expo 86 world’s fair, had been partially leased by Oei to a casino for years.
Concord sued Oei after he took legal action against the company in the Singapore High Court for failing to make payment as outlined in a non-binding document known as a “heads of agreement” that sets out the terms of a potential deal.
The document had been drawn up after both parties agreed in May 2015 to jointly develop the Plaza of Nations site, with the belief it would be rezoned into a residential development.
Oei told Concord its share of the joint venture would be C$250 million, with 50 per cent of the amount paid to him according to a fixed schedule – C$10 million within three business days, C$40 million within 60 business days and a further C$75 million within 14 business days of the site being rezoned.
But disagreements emerged during the course of negotiations and affected the payment schedule. One disputed item concerned which party would pay the taxes owed on the land after it increased in value following its purchase.
Singaporean tycoon Oei Hong Leong wins long-running Vancouver property case
Oei eventually dropped the Singapore suit so he could devote himself to fighting the case Concord initiated in Vancouver “full time”.
In a judgment dated July 19, Supreme Court Justice Peter Voith dismissed Concord’s claim in its entirety and awarded costs to Oei. The judge found there was “no existing agreement between the parties”.
Asked if he was overly litigious, Oei pointed out that he had made many business deals and if other parties did things “accordingly” there would be no issues.
Happy price
The investor and financier said he had fended off interest in his premium waterfront site for years, calling it a purchase he made at age 40 “so when I retire, there’s income”.
He decided to partner with Concord after Hui came to his house for dinner and agreed to his “happy price” of C$500 million for the value of the site – a figure Oei said he gave spontaneously.
But in the end, Oei said “this became a big complicated case” that required him to make more than 20 trips to Vancouver. At one point, he spent about three months in the city to focus on the legal battle.
“In the end we won, so we can say, justice [has been served],” said Oei.
Concord Pacific Acquisitions’ lawyer J. Kenneth McEwan said the company was considering an appeal. In an emailed statement, McEwan noted that Oei continued to hold the first instalment of C$10 million “despite alleging no agreement entitling him to do so”.
He pointed out that a partial interest in the property had been sold to a Weichang Yang in 2017, which Oei had not voluntarily disclosed.
Oei confirmed he had sold a 20 per cent stake to a “sleeping partner” and said he would move ahead with redeveloping the site once the relevant city permits came through.
He has renamed the site Expo Gardens and intends to construct 1.4 million sq ft of residential units and 700,000 sq ft of commercial and retail units.
Development costs for the site are estimated at about C$1 billion, he said, adding that with the sale price per square foot averaging C$2,000, the project could earn revenue of about C$4.5 billion.
Oei said he wanted to build “an iconic building, a landmark for Vancouver” on the site as it was the last undeveloped waterfront location in the city.
“I bought this site [in 1989] with zero borrowings and no debt, so I was able to hold on to it. A developer would want to make quick money but [my] plan is to build the best development for the future, for Vancouver.”
