Sino Land
With the merger of the colonial postal services, the GPO building was transferred to the federal Post-Master General's department ("PMG") in 1901 after Federation. It remained in the ownership of the federal postal authority (now Australia Post), although following the 1996 conversion the building was leased for 99 years to Singapore-based Far East Organisation and its affiliate Sino Land Company, which own the adjoining Westin Hotel. In July 2017 Australia Post announced that the freehold over the building had also been sold to Far East Organisation and Sino Land. The sale process has been criticised as secretive and offering inadequate protection for the significant historical building. An "updated heritage management plan" was included in the sale and Australia Post said it would seek National Heritage listing for the newly sold building "in recognition of its historical importance and to reinforce existing heritage protections". Criticism of the sale described it as simply "asset stripping" and referred to the government's lack of care of the city's heritage and its past, as well as doubts over the new owners' ability to protect the building in the future. Sino Land, which is the sister company of Far East Organisation, is also notable for acquiring and owning The Fullerton Hotel Singapore, which was formerly the General Post Office of Singapore from 1928 to 1996. The iconic hotel is notable for being the prominent feature on Singapore’s city waterfront. The hotel was gazetted as a conservation building by the Government of Singapore in 1997, prior to its sale to Sino Land.