Singapore will double the size of its financial district over the next 15 years, after demand for offices surged last year with the city-state seeking to become a centre for business in Asia. The city will add 2.82 million sq m of office space, the equivalent of Hong Kong’s Central district, the government’s Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) said in an e-mailed statement yesterday. Occupancy of...
Singapore Office
Office rents in Singapore are likely to rise at a slower pace this year, even as supply, especially in prime areas, remains tight. Robust demand for grade A office space by financial institutions and other companies will still contribute to overall rental growth, but it would not match the upward spiral seen last year, said property consultants. “A variety of factors indicate a slower pace of rental...
Rentals of Grade A offices in Singapore are expected to continue rising this year. According to property consultant Savills, average office rentals here may even nudge above that of Hong Kong's, currently the highest in the region. They added that Singapore's office property sector will continue to remain buoyant despite worries over the US sub-prime crisis. One Raffles Quay in Singapore's Central...
The 17-storey Singapore Power Building on Somerset Road has been sold. Pacific Star Group did not disclose the price it paid but it is believed to be close to S$1 billion. The property group described the transaction as a landmark deal and one of the largest commercial real estate deals transacted in Singapore to date. It is planning a makeover of the 30-year-old property. Part of the plans will be to...
By 2012, Singapore will have an additional 1.4 million sq m of office space. Some 150,000 sq m of additional space will also be added near term. But that is small consolation to businesses facing a rapid rise in rentals on a surge in the growth in business and financial sectors. To ease the squeeze in office space further, the government will move some government agencies out of the central area. “We...
Singapore has moved up 10 spots to become the world’s seventh most expensive office location. According to Cushman & Wakefield’s global ranking, prime office rents shot up 78 percent in Singapore last year. The property consultancy expects demand for office space from companies across most industry sectors to remain strong this year against a tight supply till 2010. Cushman is predicting that...
Standard Chartered Bank is investing S$206m in a new office building in Changi Business Park in Singapore. The new building will house the bank's back-end operations and a global learning centre, and will be completed in 2010. This makes Standard Chartered the latest financial institution to relocate part of its operations to Changi. DBS, Citibank and Credit Suisse have made similar announcements. The...
Life insurance firm Prudential is expected to save S$1.2 million a year in rent for the next 15 years when it moves into a transitional office site at Scotts Road. The site, which is slated to be ready in September, will house 2,500 staff. The target to construct the S$35 million, four-storey building by September is a challenging one given the resource crunch in the construction sector. Developer...
Germany's SEB Group has bought 12 strata-title floors of the office building Anson 79. It is paying S$215 million to Farrell Asset Management for some 10,300 square metres of Grade A office space. SEB already owns another nearby Grade A office building Springleaf Tower. Anson 79 is a 23-storey building in Shenton Way and is within walking distance of Tanjong Pagar MRT station. It has an occupancy of...
Singapore-listed Straits Trading Company is pumping in some S$60 million to build a new building. It will be developed on the site of the old Straits Trading Building and is expected to be completed in 2009. Agents for the New Straits Trading Building said they see strong demand for premium mid-sized office space. A new 28-storey Straits Trading Building will rise in the heart of Singapore's financial...