Demand is burgeoning for Grade A new office space in Singapore.
Citibank Singapore has agreed to lease more than 250,000 square feet of office space at Asia Square, which will house the US bank’s new corporate office as well as its largest trading floor in Asia Pacific.
This is the largest leasing transaction in Singapore’s central business district in two years, according to real-estate investment firm MGPA, which owns Asia Square in one of its Asia funds.
Citi, which will become the biggest tenant in Asia Square’s Tower One when it moves there in October next year, expects to spend S$85 million on renovation and relocation.
Asia Square’s Tower 1, which will be completed in June next year, is almost 50 per cent let. Apart from Citi, other secured tenants include law firm White & Case and Swiss private bank Julius Baer.
MGPA said that future tenants of this 1.26-million-square-foot office bloc could include a large IT company and some large insurers.
Meanwhile, Asia Square’s Tower 2, which boasts around 780,000 square feet of office space and will be ready by end-2013 or early 2014, is also enjoying strong interest.
John Saunders, CEO Asia, MGPA, said: “Tower 2 will be the only other building to complete from the last of the buildings that are being finished off now.
“After that this is really the only building till 2015 at the earliest or possibly as late as 2016. So there’s a lot of interest from tenants in terms of pre commitment.”
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 23 Nov 2010