He was one of the many property analysts Today spoke to who voiced surprise at the timing of the announcement. Mr Lim said: "These announcements make quite a big impact on listed developers, so by right, they should wait till the market closes."

The increase in development charges — from 50 per cent back to the pre-1985 rate of 70 per cent — is widely viewed by analysts as an attempt to slow down the en bloc frenzy as it will now be more expensive for developers to buy land. While he acknowledged that it was not the first time that the Government had released statistics before the market closed, Mr Lim felt none of those announcements were as big as Wednesday's. "It is quite unlike our Government" not to see the impact of such an announcement on the stock market, he added.

Other analysts felt that it was possible that the Government did not expect the fallout to be quite so big.

Mr Colin Tan, director and head of consultancy & research at Chesterton International, said: "Perhaps, the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) thought the market was primed for such a policy announcement … (Or) They must have thought it wasn't so sensitive because it's nothing new, as they were just reinstating an old policy (of raising the development charges back to an old, higher rate). " But in hindsight, perhaps the announcement could have waited till later in the day, Mr Tan added, to give investors a chance to digest the news. In any case, Mr Donald Han, managing director at Cushman & Wakefield Singapore, said: "The official line was not directed at cooling the market, but adjusting it to be more equitable, so I think Government didn't think it was a critical announcement (that) would make much impact." But it did have a great impact on the stock market, said analysts. "The hours of panic might have been because investors thought it was a sign of tougher measures to come," said Mr Han. Economist Chua Hak Bin, however, was among the analysts who did not attach much weight to the timing of the announcement as monetary policies are also released in the morning, at 8am. While he noted that the Government emphasised that the move was not a cooling measure, "it does raise the possibility that the Government is watching the property market closely and more measures are likely".

In response to Today's queries, the Ministry of National Development said the announcement — issued at 12.30pm during the mid-day market recess and posted on both the MND and URA websites — was "consistent" with their practice of issuing other announcements like the Government Land Sales (GLS) programme.

The other tower will have 42 four-bedroom apartments of 3,000 sq ft in size on average.

To justify the high price, each apartment will have bathrooms with steam and shower rooms.

The master bedrooms will come with walk-in wardrobes of up to 30 sq ft - the same size as a typical bedroom in most residential developments, said SC Global.

It added that the project will have an on-site concierge service and 6.5m-high ceilings for the living areas in each unit.

'We want to ensure The Marq offers unparalleled luxury,' said Mr Simon Cheong, SC Global's chairman and chief executive.

'As Singapore becomes more entrenched as a global city, developments such as The Marq will cater to the increasing demands of its internationally discerning residents.'

Foreigners are likely to make up about two-thirds of The Marq's buyers, said Mr Ku Swee Yong, the director of marketing and business development at Savills Singapore.

He said The Marq is 'the sort of project that will appeal most to high net-worth individuals'.

'I wouldn't be surprised if the cost of construction of this development is close to $1,000 psf,' he added.

The Marq is built on the former Paterson Tower site acquired by SC Global in March last year for $266 million, or $1,064 psf of total floor area.

Fiona,C.(2007) SC Global unveils most expensive condo here. Straitstimes. Retrieved 2007, July 12, from http://www.straitstimes.com/Free/Story/STIStory_131408.html/