As companies around the world retrench staff and downsize during the current downturn, many are turning to alternatives like virtual and serviced offices. Within Asia, companies in Singapore are leading the way in this trend. Their take-up rate for such services has grown by up to 20 per cent in the last quarter compared to the same period in 2007. For example, one chiropractor has opted for a temporary...
Office / Retail Space
A rental dispute turned ugly at Ngee Ann City on Sunday morning. Security was called in to the Opera Gallery - one of the tenants there - to seal off the premises which houses over S$20 million worth of art. The Opera Gallery had brought in dramatic street art during the F1 race last September. And now it is caught in some drama itself. Its landlords at Ngee Ann City ordered security to seal off the...
Property developer CapitaLand has said it will give back S$41.5 million in rental rebates to existing retail, commercial and industrial tenants. This will effectively mean a 4 per cent reduction in rentals on average. The developer is passing on the savings it received from the government's Budget announcement last week. Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam had said the government is giving a 40 per...
Analysts expect more 'shadow space' ahead Even as office rentals are tumbling fast, more space is lying idle at vacancy levels approaching those seen just before the recent boom years. As at the end of last month, the island-wide vacancy rate ofoffice space stood at 8.8 per cent,up from the third quarter's rate of8.2 per cent, according to data released last week by the Urban Redevelopment Authority...
CAPITACOMMERCIAL Trust (CCT) has scrapped plans to redevelop the Market Street car park into a grade A office building, which could have cost up to $1.5 billion. "The manager, after taking into consideration the uncertain market outlook, tight credit conditions, high redevelopment cost and significant size of the project, has decided to abort the project immediately," the Singapore-listed real estate...
CapitaCommercial Trust (CCT) has decided not to redevelop the Market Street Car Park into a commercial building. The redevelopment is estimated to cost up to S$1.5 billion. CCT said the decision was based on the uncertain market outlook and conditions like tight credit and high redevelopment costs. CapitaCommerical Trust Management CEO, Lynette Leong, said: "In line with our prudent approach to capital...
A 30-per-cent fall in rental market expected this year TENANTS for office space are beginning to enjoy more bargaining power as increased supply for such commercial property and a weakening economy drive rents lower. This is good news for business owners such as Mr Hu Yinghan. Mr Hu, who runs an events company Apesnap in Chinatown, will be asking for much lower rent when his lease runs out at the end of...
Office occupancy in Singapore is down in the last quarter of 2008 due to deteriorating global financial situation. According to real estate adviser DTZ Research, office occupancy islandwide dropped by two percentage points to 95.6 per cent, compared to the same period last year. This is because of weaker demand as companies shelved expansion plans or relocated to more cost-effective premises. DTZ said...
Singapore's Marina Bay Sands integrated resort will unveil details of plans for its retail space after the Chinese New Year in January next year. Recent reports said its parent company, Las Vegas Sands, is facing financial difficulties. But the Singapore firm remains confident about prospects for its retail business. The S$5.4-billion Marina Bay Sands project is still being built. When completed, it will...
Occupancy costs in Middle East the fastest growing THIS is one ranking that Singapore would be happy not to climb: Cities with the fastest-growing rentals. According to a semi-annual survey of office markets worldwide, Singapore now ranks 13th in terms of posting the fastest-rising rents among 172 markets, slipping from No 3 position six months ago. Here, occupancy costs - which include expenses for...