Singapore tycoon Oei Hong Leong wins long-running property case involving Vancouver’s Plaza of Nations

The case pitted Oei against Concord Pacific, one of Canada’s largest property developers, and involved a commercial site in the heart of Vancouver

Concord Pacific accused Oei and his company of breaching an agreement pertaining to the development of the Plaza of Nations and acting in bad faith

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Plaza of Nations in Vancouver Canada. Photo: Handout

Published: 10:14am, 23 Jul 2019Updated: 11:08am, 23 Jul 2019

Singapore businessman Oei Hong Leong has won a long-running court battle involving one of Canada’s largest property developers and a commercial site in the heart of Vancouver.

The case, which began in October 2015, pitted Oei against Concord Pacific Acquisitions, part of Concord Pacific Group. The firm, led by CEO and president Terry Hui, accused Oei and his associated company of breaching an agreement pertaining to the development of the site and acting in bad faith.

But after years of legal wrangling, Supreme Court of British Columbia Justice Peter Voith, in a judgment dated July 19, sided with Oei, dismissing Concord’s claim in its entirety.

Oei Hong Leong in 1999. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Concord is considering an appeal, its lawyer J. Kenneth McEwan said in an emailed statement on Monday. Oei could not immediately be reached for comment.

The dispute revolved around the Plaza of Nations, an entertainment complex in Vancouver that Oei bought for C$40 million (US$30 million) in 1989. By 2015, Oei was looking to develop the site with local partners. Over dinner on May 3 that year, he told Hui his “happy price” for the multiphase redevelopment was C$500 million, according to the judgment.