Space at MBFC Tower2 almost fully taken

[mr funny]

http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...80291,00.html?

Published April 8, 2010

Space at MBFC Tower2 almost fully taken

A small percentage of space is reserved for existing tenants' expansion

By EMILYN YAP


MARINA Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) Tower 2 is close to being fully leased, after a new tenant came on board and an existing one took on more space.

Prudential Asset Management (Singapore) will be leasing one and a half floors at the building, which works out to around 37,000 square feet of space. It will move in next year on a nine-year lease.

Meanwhile, Barclays Capital, which already signed a lease at MBFC Tower 2, has asked for more space.

It committed to rent four floors at the building, or around 100,000 sq ft of space, in April 2008. It has more than tripled its commitment to 14 floors or around 350,000 sq ft of space. This confirms a BT report early last month.

Barclays Capital will move to MBFC Tower 2 in Q1 2011 and its lease lasts 10 years. It now has offices at One Raffles Quay (ORQ) and it will retain its space there.

Both ORQ and MBFC are managed by Raffles Quay Asset Management. Barclays Capital director Quek Suan Kiat said: 'Our existing relationship with the landlord, and the proximity of MBFC Tower 2 to our current office space at ORQ, were key factors in our choice of location.'

Raffles Quay Asset Management said yesterday that MBFC Tower 2 is fully leased 'except for a small percentage of space reserved for existing tenants' expansion'.

It declined to say how much space it is setting aside, and which tenants could take on more space. Other tenants at MBFC Tower 2 include BHP Billiton, Macquarie and Nomura.

'Monthly rents at MBFC are in line with the current market rates,' Raffles Quay Asset Management told BT. According to a CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) report last week, Grade A office rents averaged $8 per square foot (psf) per month in Q1 2010, down slightly from $8.10 psf per month a quarter ago.

CBRE office services executive director Moray Armstrong said in the report: 'As we emerged from the recent recession, occupiers that had necessarily held off decisions on premises started to gear up to take advantage of competitive rents.'

The consultancy was involved in getting Nomura, Barclays Capital and Prudential Asset Management to secure space at MBFC.

MBFC Tower 2 will receive Temporary Occupation Permit (TOP) in Q3. Nearby, Marina Bay Residences and Marina Bay Link Mall will obtain TOP in the next two weeks and in Q3 respectively.

The mall is likely to open its doors in Q4 after the area sees more office workers and residents.

[mr funny]

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stori...048459/1/.html

Keppel Land says almost all rental space available in MBFC taken up

By Ephraim Seow | Posted: 07 April 2010 1726 hrs


SINGAPORE: Property developer Keppel Land said almost all the rental space available under the first phase at the Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) has been taken up ahead of completion.

The space was nearly fully utilised after investment bank, Barclays Capital, committed to leasing ten additional floors at MBFC Commercial Tower Two.

This brings the total amount of space it leased to about 350,000 square feet, including the 100,000 square feet the British-based bank committed in April 2008.

Barclays Capital will now occupy 14 floors of the 50-storey tower for a 10-year lease.

It will commence occupancy in the first quarter next year.

In addition, Prudential Asset Management has signed on to lease about 37,000 square feet of space in MBFC's Tower Two.

It will occupy one and a half floors in the mid-rise zone of the tower with a nine-year lease that starts in 2011.

With the expansion, MBFC is now fully leased except for a small percentage of space reserved for existing tenants' expansion.

Meanwhile, MBFC Commercial Tower One has attained the Temporary Occupancy Permit or TOP in March with Marina Bay Residences attaining TOP within the next two weeks.

MBFC Commercial Tower Two expects to receive its TOP in the third quarter this year.

MBFC, Singapore's first mixed-use development that integrates residential, business, retail and entertainment facilities, will be completed in 2012.

It is being developed by a joint venture comprising Keppel Land, Hongkong Land and Cheung Kong Holdings/Hutchison Whampoa. - CNA/vm

[jlrx]

It suddenly dawned upon me that residential properties could be moving in the direction of commercial properties, where most properties are rented rather than owner-occupied.

There used to be a time when there were quite a lot of strata office and retail units, e.g. International Plaza, Peninsula Plaza, Far East Plaza, Lucky Plaza, Far East Shopping Centre, Orchard Plaza etc.

But in recent years, most of the new commercial space coming up are owned by a single entity (or a few partners) e.g. ION Orchard, Somerset 313, Orchard Central, Suntec, Vivocity, MBFC etc. such that the occupiers are usually tenants, rather than owner occupiers. The only exception in recent years being SOHO@Central, but that is part residential.

Recently I notice a trend in the rental market where people sold their properties and rent instead. According to them, they are waiting for the market to come down before they buy again.

But what if the market doesn't come down? Will they be permanently renting a place?

In future, will there be a REIT of residential properties just like CapitaMall, e.g. CapitaHome?

Home ownership in Japan

Because of the high cost of housing in major Japanese cities, many urban families and individuals rent apartments rather than owning their own home.

In 2003, less than half of the living units in Tokyo were owned by the resident. On the other hand, rural areas tend to have much higher ownership rates. The highest rate in the country is Toyama Prefecture, with around 80% of all living units being owned by the resident.