The Appellate Division of Singapore’s High Court raised United Overseas Bank’s (UOB) damages to S$76.1 million from the initial S$17.7 million awarded in July 2025, following an appeal against Lippo Marina Collection, an Indonesian property developer, on August 24, 2026 [1, 2, 3, 4].
The damages stem from loans UOB disbursed between December 2011 and July 2013 amounting to approximately S$182 million for 38 residential units at Marina Collection. All 38 purchasers later defaulted on their loans, prompting UOB to repossess 37 units which have since been rented out [1, 2, 3, 4].
The High Court had previously found Lippo Marina Collection liable for conspiring with property agents to mislead UOB by inflating housing loan values. The developer granted “furniture rebates” to buyers that artificially lowered the declared unit prices. Justice Woo Bih Li explained the scheme led UOB to unknowingly breach the loan-to-value limit by approving higher loans than justified by actual prices [3, 4].
On appeal, the court ruled that mortgage repayments and rental income collected by UOB should not be deducted from the damages award. Justice Woo said, "Lippo was only responsible for the excess loans. There was no surplus available to be used to pay the excess loans and, hence, no part of the rents and repayments received shall be deducted from the award" [3].
The revised S$76.1 million sum includes the prior S$17.7 million damages, repayments and rental income collected by UOB, plus about S$22.46 million in interest [1, 2]. Additionally, the court awarded UOB S$50,000 in costs for the appeal [1, 2].
The decision clarifies that Lippo’s liability relates solely to the inflated portion of loans granted based on misleading information, rejecting deductions that would have reduced UOB’s recovery.
UOB will now proceed with recovery efforts based on the updated judgment. No further court dates have been announced.
