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If rent does not keep going up, I worry
Rent is killing Singapore
- Thread starter LITTLEREDDOT
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Co-owner of firm behind record $52k bid to rent Tampines HDB clinic says location justifies cost
The Tampines clinic’s eye-popping rent recently caught public attention and ignited discussion about rising rentals and healthcare costs.ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Isabelle Liew
Jun 04, 2025
SINGAPORE – The co-owner of a healthcare services firm that placed a record high bid of $52,188 in monthly rent for a unit in a Tampines HDB estate, has come out to explain that his bid was based on the attractive attributes of the area.
Mr Andrew Chim, 37, co-owns I-Health Medical Holdings – the firm that won the tender to operate the 50 sq m ground-floor unit at Block 954C Tampines Street 96.
Bidding on the unit had closed in January, and the results were announced by the Housing Board in March, said Mr Chim.
But the clinic’s eye-popping rent recently caught public attention and ignited discussion over the last few days about rising rentals and healthcare costs.
Mr Chim told The Straits Times on June 3 that the unit in question had the most attractive attributes among recent HDB units for general practitioner (GP) clinics.
He pointed out that the unit is in the middle of Tampines West where there are five Build-To-Order projects with 5,000 households, as well as other upcoming developments like a new mixed-use project and a shopping mall.
“Our assessment is based on our understanding of the number of units in the area and the surrounding competition,” he said, adding that there are around five other clinics in the vicinity.
I-Health has three other clinics in heartland areas around the island, where it pays between $7,000 and $10,000 in rent.
It plans to open its Tampines clinic on June 26.
There were 13 bids in total for the Tampines clinic, which comes with a three-year lease. The stated winner, Mr Shaun Lum, is the other co-owner of I-Health. HDB did not disclose the bid amounts from the other tenderers.
The $52,188 rent came to public attention on May 31 after healthcare practitioner Hisham Badaruddin took to professional networking platform LinkedIn to say this was an “obscene” amount to pay for rent for a clinic in an HDB estate. Dr Hisham, who runs his own practice, Bartley Clinic, told ST on June 3 that he was concerned about the implications of such high rents, pointing out that it could translate to higher healthcare costs.
“It may have a ripple effect where other landlords raise their rents too. If it affects me, it will in turn affect my patients,” said the 54-year-old, who pays about $6,000 a month in rent for a shophouse unit in Paya Lebar.
Mr Nicholas Mak, chief research officer at property search portal Mogul.sg, said demand for the unit in Tampines GreenGem was high, considering that clinics in HDB estates usually attract fewer than 10 bids.
He added that private landlords could use the high rentals in HDB commercial spaces as a benchmark to raise their asking rents.
“This will either force some retail operators out of business or force them to raise prices. The higher rentals will eventually be passed on to consumers as higher prices of the goods and services,” Mr Mak said.
Asked if I-Health will increase prices at its Tampines branch, Mr Chim said that despite the high rental, consultation fees will range from $30 to $35, comparable with those of other heartland clinics.
“Our pricing will be commensurate with other clinic chains’ – it has to be because Singaporeans are value-conscious,” he said.
Mr Chim said he is confident that after a year, the Tampines branch will see between 70 and 90 patients a day. At that point, it will get a second doctor. He expects the clinic to make a profit in 1½ to two years.
It will be open from 8.30am to 3pm and 5.30pm to 10pm, including on weekends and public holidays, he said, adding that nearby clinics are open for fewer hours.
This is the first time I-Health has successfully tendered for an HDB unit. It tried submitting bids for four other tenders in areas such as Bidadari and Tampines North, but the company “did not have enough cash flow” then, said Mr Chim.
“Now that we have sufficient cash flow, we have confidence to go after the best locations,” he said.
About concerns that I-Health’s bid would cause rents for other clinics to rise, Mr Chim pointed out that landlords might not be able to find tenants willing to pay higher prices.
Other recent successful rental bids for GP clinics in HDB estates include a $40,088 bid for a unit at Block 235B Tengah Garden Walk. Bidding for that unit also closed in January and was awarded to Dr Daphne Lee.
The same month, Caring Medical Clinic placed a successful bid of $25,388 to rent a unit at Block 666 Tampines Street 64.
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Ong Ye Kung ‘dismayed’ at $52k bid to rent Tampines HDB clinic
I-Health Medical Holdings won the tender to operate the 50 sq m ground-floor unit at Block 954C Tampines Street 96 in March. ST PHOTO: ARIFFIN JAMAR
Isabelle Liew and Samantha Lee
Jun 04, 2025, 09:38 PM
SINGAPORE - Health Minister Ong Ye Kung said he was “dismayed” at the $52,188 monthly rental bid for a general practitioner (GP) clinic in a Tampines HDB estate as it may lead to higher healthcare costs for residents.
Going forward, bids for future HDB GP clinics will be assessed using a model that focuses less on price, and more on quality of care, he said in a Facebook post on June 4.
Mr Ong said the high rental bid would “translate to higher cost of healthcare one way or another” and negate the Health Ministry’s efforts to keep the cost of primary healthcare affordable.
“More importantly, higher rental bids do not necessarily translate to the best healthcare that the community needs,” he added.
I-Health Medical Holdings had won the tender to operate the 50 sq m ground-floor unit at Block 954C Tampines Street 96 in March.
But the issue recently came to public attention after a doctor called the $52,188 monthly rent “obscene” in a LinkedIn post. It sparked discussion over rising rentals and healthcare costs.
Mr Andrew Chim, 37, the co-owner of I-Health Medical Holdings, had told The Straits Times that his bid was based on the attractive attributes of the area.
He said the unit is in the middle of five Build-To-Order projects with 5,000 households, and near upcoming developments like a new mixed-use project and a shopping mall.
On June 4, Mr Ong pointed to the new tender approach for GP clinics that MOH and HDB had first launched at the Bartley Beacon development in May.
Under this new “price-quality evaluation model”, quality of care will account for 70 per cent of tender evaluation and rental price the remaining 30 per cent.
The Bartley Beacon tender closed on May 29, and Mr Ong said MOH received proposals with rental bids significantly below that for the Tampines site.
He noted that the Tampines clinic launched for tender in December 2024 and was awarded in March 2025, before tenders took on the price-quality evaluation model.
The new model which will be the norm moving forward will shift the focus away from rental rates.
“It will be a meaningful shift, both in improving primary care, and ensuring greater affordability,” Mr Ong said.
General practitioners who run clinics in HDB estates either rent directly from the state, or from landlords who own HDB commercial units.
GPs that the The Straits Times spoke to felt the $52,188 rental was too high to be sustainable. Some doctors that rented from private landlords described a volatile rental market that has seen prices rising after the pandemic.
Dr Conrad Chin, who runs the E. L. Chin Family Clinic and Surgery in Clementi, said he thought the rental amount was outrageous.
“Most older doctors do not pay above $2,000 for rent. I doubt that the ($52,188) price is sustainable in the long term,” he added.
Dr Wong Choo Wai, who runs two HDB clinics in Bedok and Jurong, said that if rent is not sustainable, the clinic will have to pass on the cost to patients.
Dr Wong, who rented before buying his own units in 2009 and 2015, said the rental market has been volatile.
“When the clinic starts doing well, private landlords may jack up the rent,” he said.
In 2009, the landlord for his Bedok unit asked for a 40 per cent increase in rent. As the rent “did not make sense” for the clinic, Dr Wong bought a neighbouring unit for about $750,000.
“I’m thankful I made the decision to buy, or else I will be at the mercy of the landlord,” he added.
A doctor who runs a clinic in Clementi and declined to be named said he hopes the $52,188 rent will not trigger rent hikes as small businesses are already struggling with rentals.
“Anything over $10,000 would be difficult for me to run the clinic. As solo GPs, we don’t make that kind of money to justify the rental,” he said.
Parkway Shenton chief executive Tay Wee Kai said that rents at their clinics in HDB estates have increased across the board post Covid-19.
“This is partly due to inflation and also due to some landlords adopting a “catch-up” mentality and expecting higher rent,” he said.
Mr Tay added that during the Covid-19 pandemic, rents remained stagnant and even went down at some locations. Their branches in HDB estates comprise about half of their more than 30 clinics.
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Hawker, 76, closes Serangoon vegetarian stall after rental allegedly rises from S$930 to S$3,000
A 76-year-old man and his wife decided to close their vegetarian food stall at a Serangoon coffeeshop after the new operator allegedly raised their rental from S$930 to over S$3,000 per month.
However, while he was moving out of the coffeeshop on Feb. 28, the exiting operator allegedly "kept rushing him and even cursed at him", reported Shin Min Daily News.
When the man, surnamed Liang (transliteration from Chinese), asked the exiting operator for a refund of two days' rental as he closed his stall on Feb. 26, the latter apparently rejected his request.
Eventually, Liang alerted the police, and the matter was resolved with the help of police mediation.
Upon learning about the incident, the new operator of the coffeeshop also arrived at the scene and refunded Liang two days' rental, which amounted to S$62, from his own pocket.
According to Shin Min, Liang was the owner of Shang De Vegetarian, a food stall that had been in operations for over 10 years.
Liang told the Chinese daily that he initially operated his stall along Circuit Road before moving to its latest location at 566 Serangoon Road coffeeshop.
Before running the stall, Liang joined his older brother in Denmark and worked in the food and beverage industry for over ten years before returning to Singapore.
Liang shared with Shin Min that he decided to close his stall after learning that the new operator will be renovating the coffeeshop and that his new monthly rental might triple.
"I am just running a small business, and I only earn enough to get by. I can't afford such rent. I may bid for a stall at a government-owned hawker centre to continue running my business," he added.
As the coffeeshop would be handed over to the new operator on Feb. 28, Liang said the exiting operator asked him to empty his stall by then.
However, as he and his wife are both in their 70s, they "fell slightly behind schedule" in cleaning up their stall on Friday.
He was taken aback when the exiting operator allegedly "rushed him" while he was moving his belongings in the morning.
"I already informed him that I would be moving everything away by 6pm. [At that time,] there was only one refrigerator left waiting to be taken away. I don't understand why he was so aggressive," said Liang.
In response to Liang's allegations, the exiting operator told Shin Min that the coffeeshop had informed all stallholders that they would need to empty their stalls before Mar. 1 so that the venue can be handed over to the new operator for renovation.
When he noticed that Liang had yet to empty the vegetarian stall on Feb. 28, he became worried that he might not be able to hand over on time and decided to "approached Liang to find out more".
"However, he told me, 'It's none of your business' and said he would liaise directly with the coffee shop owner. These comments made me feel disrespected.
Although I am only the operator of the coffeeshop, the stall owners pay their rentals to me, and they also signed their lease with me," added the exiting operator.
He also admitted that he had spoken "inappropriately" on Friday, adding that he was caught up in the heat of the moment.
As for why he did not refund Liang two days' rental, the exiting operator said that all stalls were closed on Feb. 26, but the coffeeshop owner did not return the rental to him.
"How can I give back the rental to the stallholders?" he asked.
According to Shin Min, many old customers patronised Liang's stall for one last time on Feb. 26.
One of these diners was Workers' Party chief and Leader of Opposition Pritam Singh, who also posted a photo of himself with Liang and Liang's wife on Instagram.
Liang said he was touched by the support from his customers.
He added that even though he and his wife are in their silver years, they enjoy good health and are "young at heart".
Hence, they do not plan on retiring and will reopen their stall for business after a bit of rest.
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65% sinkie cunts who voted PAP must hum ka chan
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S'poreans (like the Americans) certainly got the govt we voted for, so we should not hear any more complaints for the next 5 years.
If the rental doesn't kill you, the high private property price, BTO flat price and resales flat price will kill you
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There is a trickle down effect from overcrowding in S'pore. As ultra rich foreigners buy up freehold land, the price of landed homes shoots up, pushing more people to turn to condo living. Aspiring upgraders are priced out of private homes so purchase 5-room HDB flats, thereby forcing more to buy 4 and 3-room units. The increase in home prices affects everyone in S'pore.
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