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[SINGAPORE] SC Global Developments has sold a 3,057 square foot (sq ft) apartment at the freehold condominium The Marq on Paterson Hill at S$6,274 per square foot, amounting to a total of S$19.18 million.

The mid-level unit is in the project’s Premier Tower, which has four-bedroom apartments of about 3,000 sq ft.

The buyer is understood to be Kristian Jebsen; his family is selling out of integrated global shipping company Gearbulk Holding.

Jebsen is a Swiss citizen, which means that he will not be liable for the 60 per cent additional buyer’s stamp duty (ABSD) on foreign buyers.

Under respective free trade agreements, nationals and permanent residents of Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, as well as US nationals, are accorded the same stamp duty treatment as Singapore citizens.

In January 2025, the Kristian Jebsen family completed the sale of a 23 per cent stake in Gearbulk to Mitsui OSK Lines, which became the majority shareholder with a 72 per cent stake. This left the family with a 28 per cent stake. Marubeni Corp reached an agreement in June 2025 to acquire this share, upon the fulfilment of certain preconditions.

The Marq on Paterson Hill, a 24-storey luxury condominium development comprising two towers, received its Temporary Occupation Permit in 2011.

The development’s Signature Tower has five-bedroom apartments of about 6,200 sq ft each with private 15-metre cantilevered lap pools.

Jebsen’s father, the late Kristian Gerhard Jebsen, established Gearbulk with three partners in 1968.

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Boutique property consultancy firm JQT Private’s executive director Jacqueline Wong said that demand in the luxury condo market has reduced due to the high ABSD rate on foreign buyers. “Nevertheless, given the continued geopolitical tensions and uncertainties, Singapore will remain an attractive safe haven for bona-fide foreigners, family offices, high-net-worth individuals and ultra-high-net-worth individuals.”

She added: “We are likely to see more US citizens and nationalities that are exempt from paying the 60 per cent ABSD investing in large luxury apartments in Singapore and relocating to the Republic. The lack of new supply with freehold tenure will create upward pressure on prices.”

The Urban Redevelopment Authority’s price index for non-landed private homes in Singapore’s prime areas, or the Core Central Region, rose 2.4 per cent in the third quarter of 2025 over the preceding quarter, based on flash estimate data released on Oct 1.

This followed a 3 per cent quarter-on-quarter gain for the index in the second quarter of 2025.