Family secure in shadow of Far East rumour mill

Rumours have haunted the Ng family for years. Every time there is a property slump in Singapore or Hong Kong, there is talk that either Far East Organisation or its Hong Kong associate, Sino Land Co, might have financial problems.

However, Ng Teng Fong, the family patriarch who built the regional property empire, is a great survivor.

'He almost goes bust every single cycle, and he's been through four or five cycles over the years,' a long-time Singapore associate said.

Far East was rumoured to have come close to going under in the mid-1980s when the Singapore property market last crashed, and Sino Land was believed to have been bailed out by Bank of China around the same time when the Hong Kong market took a turn.

'Far East has this ability to surprise a lot of people,' one property analyst in Singapore said. 'Just when there are rumours of them going under, they come out and surprise you by spending a few more hundred million on another piece of land.' In up-cycles, the Ngs are renowned as possibly the most aggressive property developers in the region, eager to buy just about any plot of land or property on the market - sometimes too eager, say analysts, with them often paying top dollar.

When prices are rising, analysts are full of praise.