http://www.straitstimes.com/archive/...entre-20150307

BHP 'giving up 4 floors at Marina Bay centre'

World's biggest miner to rent space at new CapitaGreen as it splits assets

Published on Mar 7, 2015 1:10 AM


BHP Billiton, the world's biggest mining company, is giving up four floors in the Central Business District as it prepares to spin off much of its metals production, according to a person familiar with the matter.

BHP, which has about 230,000 sq ft of office space at Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) Tower 2, is looking to vacate about 100,000 sq ft, said the person, who asked not to be named as the discussions are private.

The company will rent two floors with an area of about 40,000 sq ft at CapitaLand's new CapitaGreen office tower, the person said.

BHP plans to split off assets, including its silver, manganese and aluminium operations, into a newly formed company called South32 Ltd to focus on larger businesses such as iron ore.

BHP and South32 marketing teams will be based at separate offices in Singapore, the company said in an e-mail response to queries from Bloomberg News.

A lease has been entered into for the CapitaGreen building, BHP said in the statement, without saying how much space it would take. The miner is also considering consolidating office space at its Singapore headquarters at Marina Bay Financial Centre, the company said, without providing specifics.

The average rent at MBFC is about $12 to $13 per sq ft per month, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Rent at CapitaGreen, whose design widely uses greenery to make the building energy-efficient, is about $10 to $11 for large tenants, the broker said.

Monthly rents in the most sought-after office buildings in Singapore reached $13.54 per sq ft in the quarter ended Dec 31, 25 per cent up from a year earlier, according to Savills.

Singapore prime-office rents posted a 14 per cent gain last year, the strongest in Asia, according to a report from broker Jones Lang LaSalle. That helped Singapore retain its spot as the most expensive regional office location after Hong Kong and Beijing.

BLOOMBERG