Hongkong Land eyes majority stake in Ong Beng Seng's Orchard Road buildings

Hongkong Land Holdings is in early talks with Hotel Properties Ltd (HPL) to buy a majority stake in three Orchard Road buildings, according to people familiar with the matter. The assets are voco Orchard hotel, Forum The Shopping Mall and HPL House, which houses HPL’s headquarters and Hard Rock Cafe.

The people say a stake sale would likely value the assets at over $2 billion, though the number could change and talks may still collapse. Both companies declined to comment.

Why HPL is selling

HPL has been under pressure since co-founder Ong Beng Seng was convicted in 2025 in a case linked to a former senior politician’s jailing. Ong avoided prison because of ill health and was fined the maximum $30,000. The company swung to a net loss of $39.1 million in the first half of 2026, compared with a profit of $11.4 million a year earlier. Its shares are down 6% over 12 months, while the Straits Times Index is up 25%.

HPL had been trying to reduce its stakes in voco Orchard and Forum mall, and later added HPL House after other talks fell through, the people said. It has provisional government approval to redevelop the site into a mixed project with hotel, retail, office, residential and a theatre. Potential partners have baulked because of theatre profitability doubts and years of lost rental income, the people said.

What Hongkong Land gets

For Hongkong Land, a deal would grow its Singapore retail footprint. A fund backed by it said in July it was buying Wheelock Place mall for $1.1 billion from Wharf Real Estate Investment.

The takeaway: This is early-stage deal talk around prime Orchard Road real estate, with a big price tag but no certainty.