Ching’s fortune takes a dent

Ching Chiat Kwong, the Singaporean cop-turned-tycoon whose Oxley Holdings has been picked by Nama to develop a major docklands site, took a bit of a battering in the latest Forbes list of the 50 richest people in the city-state.

Ching made his debut on the list last year in 36th place with a fortune of $510 million. But a 42 per cent hammering of the shares of Oxley, which will co-develop Nama’s North Wall project with Ballymore, saw him slip down the order. He clung on to 50th spot, with a still not too shabby $420 million.

In its citation this month, Forbes says Ching earned his spurs building “shoebox” apartments in Singapore. It is reported elsewhere that he has built swathes of apartments of less than 28sq m (300sq ft).

With the Lilliputian new minimum apartment sizes currently under consideration at Dublin City Council, perhaps Ching has come to the right place.