The office sector in the Asia Pacific continued to expand in the third quarter, with occupier demand increasing as a result of sustained economic growth, according to a report by DTZ Research on Thursday. The property researcher found that aggregate net absorption across the region has now reached pre-financial crisis levels, totalling 1.9 million square metres, compared with a low of 200,000 square...
Office Space
Bank Julius Baer said it has signed an eight-year lease with MGPA for a total of 71,000 square feet of office space in Asia Square's Tower 1. This makes the bank one of the key office tenants of the 43-storey commercial tower. Early last month, the leading Swiss private banking group also announced that it is growing Asia into its second home market. It said it planned to set up a Trust Company in...
Historically, the Singapore office market has not been a very volatile one when compared to other major markets such as Hong Kong. However, in recent years the market here has become much more volatile than usual, as can be seen during the last cycle. Rents grew very rapidly from around $5 per square foot per month (psf pm) in 2003 and 2004 to a peak of $18.40 psf pm in Q3 '08. Rents then fell very...
Following a nearly ten-year absence, the Westin brand will stage a comeback in Singapore when a 280-room hotel opens on the top floors of Asia Square Tower 2 by 2013. Industry sources say that Starwood Hotels & Resorts has clinched the management contract to manage the hotel under the Westin brand. The hotel will be located on the 32nd to 46th floors - sitting above 26 levels of offices. There will...
The Goldman Sachs funds which own the 999-year leasehold Hitachi Tower along Collyer Quay are looking to refinance the loan on the asset which matures in January next year instead of selling. The driver for the change in strategy is the improving outlook for the Singapore office market, say experts. 'The thinking now is to get refinancing on the asset, ride the current office upcycle and perhaps sell in...
Property developer Keppel Land plans to sell one-third stake of its Phase One of Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) to K-REIT Asia for about S$1.4 billion. This is part of an asset swap agreement with K-REIT, a real estate investment trust. Under the deal, K-REIT will in turn sell Keppel Towers and GE Tower (KTGE) to Keppel Land for S$573 million. The one-third stake of Marina Bay Financial Centre Phase...
The Singapore Technologies Building in the Tanjong Pagar precinct is up for sale. Property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle expects proposed bids to reach above S$150 million. These bids will likely come from developers or private buyers. The 13-storey freehold building occupies a site of over 19,400 square feet, on the corner of Cantonment and Lim Teck Kim roads. Jones Lang LaSalle believes the building...
The Singapore Technologies Building in the Central Business District's (CBD) Tanjong Pagar precinct is up for sale. Property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle expects proposed bids to reach above $150 million which works out to $1500 per square foot on net lettable area. The 13-storey freehold building sits on a 19,402 square feet site. Located on the corner of Cantonment and Lim Teck Kim Roads, it has a...
The ongoing economic recovery will likely drive Grade A office rentals to rise by more than 25 per cent in two years. This is according to the latest property report by Swiss-based investment bank Credit Suisse. The bank said that it expects rent to hit $12 per square foot (psf) for super prime office space, such as the Marina Bay Financial Centre, by 2012. Meanwhile, rentals for Grade A office space and...
Chevron House at Raffles Place has been sold for $547 million to a fund management Deka Immobilien of Germany, taking the total value of Singapore office investment sales deals this year to around $3 billion. The price works out to around $2,083 per square foot based on the net lettable area (NLA) of 262,650 sq ft. Formerly known as Caltex House, Chevron House is a 33-storey building on a site with a...