http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...78340,00.html?

Published March 18, 2011

Credit Suisse is One@Changi City anchor

By EMILYN YAP


CREDIT SUISSE has signed a deal to become the anchor tenant at One@Changi City and the bank will have room for over 6,000 staff in Singapore by 2013 - up from the more than 5,500 that it currently has.

The bank will be moving out of some of its existing offices as it consolidates its presence at the upcoming tower at Changi, One Raffles Link and its data centre at Serangoon.

One@Changi City - part of the Changi City project jointly developed by Ascendas and Frasers Centrepoint - will be completed by the fourth quarter next year at a development cost of $180 million.

The nine-storey building has a net lettable floor area of 650,000 square feet, and Credit Suisse will occupy five floors spread across 315,000 sq ft. It has the option to take up another two floors measuring 175,000 sq ft.

The lease lasts 10 years, and the bank has the option to extend it by five years twice. Jones Lang LaSalle brokered the leasing deal.

Ascendas president and CEO Chong Siak Ching said that talks with 'a number' of other potential tenants at One@Changi City are ongoing. Frasers Centrepoint group CEO Lim Ee Seng noted that Credit Suisse's decision to move over 'underscores the confidence' that it has in the development.

One@Changi City will accommodate Credit Suisse's expected growth and provide a consolidated site for most of the staff, said the bank's vice-chairman (Asia-Pacific) and Singapore country CEO, Lito Camacho.

He did not specify how many more people the bank might hire in Singapore, but said that the country is an important location for businesses such as wealth management, asset management and investment banking.

One@Changi City is expected to house over 4,000 Credit Suisse employees in the mid and back office functions.

Credit Suisse will give up its space at One Raffles Quay and Changi Business Park as the leases expire. It will keep its premises at One Raffles Link primarily for front office employees.

One@Changi City will be next to Changi City Point - a mall which should be ready by the fourth quarter this year. It will also be near a 12-storey service residence block called Modena Changi City. Both the mall and service apartments are developed by Frasers Centrepoint.

The entire Changi City integrated business park project will cost about $550 million to develop.