When investing in Singapore, it is crucial for foreign investors to familiarize themselves with the regulations and limitations surrounding property ownership. In contrast to landed properties, which have more stringent ownership regulations, foreigners have relatively few restrictions when purchasing condos. However, they must still pay the Additional Buyer’s Stamp Duty (ABSD), currently set at 20% for their initial property acquisition. Despite this additional expense, the stability and potential for growth in the Singapore real estate market remain appealing to foreign investors. As such, new condo launches continue to garner interest and attract foreign investment.
Oxley Holdings has announced a significant improvement in its financial performance, with narrowed losses for the fiscal year of 2025. This positive outcome is driven by an increase in revenue, lower cost of sales, and a reduction in financing costs.
In the year ending on June 30, the group reported a net loss of $6.1 million, a significant improvement from the $95.9 million loss reported in the previous year. This improvement can be attributed to the group’s strong performance in the second half of the fiscal year. During this period, revenue jumped by 59.8% year-on-year to $198.3 million, bringing the full-year revenue to $313.6 million, an 8.7% increase from the previous year.
For those looking to invest in overseas properties, Oxley Holdings offers a wide range of projects available for sale worldwide. The group generated strong cash inflows of $75.7 million from its operations, driven by hotel revenue, rental billings, and progressive billings from its overseas projects. The group also reduced its debt levels by $126.2 million during the fiscal year. As of June 30, the group’s bank borrowings and fixed-rate notes stood at $1.243 billion, with $1.155 billion secured. After the reporting period, the group redeemed $88 million in unsecured debt, leaving no remaining unsecured borrowings.
The flagship project of Oxley Holdings, Oxley Towers Kuala Lumpur City, has been fully completed, and the group expects to hand over its first residential units as early as September. From the committed sales, the group anticipates collecting RM200 million, followed by RM60 million over the next 12 months and another RM32 million in 2027. The group still holds RM550 million worth of unsold inventory. Additionally, the group is pleased to see a pick-up in transaction volumes following the project’s completion. It aims to clear its inventory within the next six to 12 months.
Renovation works at its Kuala Lumpur hotel components are currently ongoing, and the group expects operations to begin soon. In Singapore, Oxley’s two hotels achieved a combined average occupancy rate of 86%, while the Shangri-La Hotel in Cambodia recorded a 52% occupancy rate since its soft launch. These properties generated hotel revenue of $59.4 million in FY2025, an increase from $58.2 million in the previous year.
Looking ahead, Oxley Holdings plans to reposition its business strategically. The group intends to exit investment properties and hotel development and focus exclusively on property development. It has also signaled its intention to divest its hotel portfolio at the right opportunity. According to Executive Chairman and CEO Ching Chiat Kwong, this strategic shift will allow the group to concentrate its resources on markets where it has a competitive advantage. By focusing on its core development business and reallocating capital from divestments, the group aims to stay agile, capture growth opportunities, and create sustainable value for its stakeholders.
With this repositioning, Oxley Holdings will focus on its core markets of Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Ireland, while gradually exiting emerging markets such as China, Cambodia, and Malaysia once the ongoing projects in these locations are completed. The proceeds from these divestments will be strategically redeployed to support core development activities, including participating in local land tenders and accelerating the Dublin Arch project in Ireland.
The group predicts significant savings in interest costs, thanks to the prevailing low-interest rate environment, which will provide a favorable backdrop for future development. As of August 29, Oxley’s shares closed at 10 cents, down 0.97% for the day but up 45.71% year-to-date. At this level, the share price is approximately half of the company’s net asset value of 19.6 cents per share, as of June 30.