40% of new Mapletree Business City pre-leased

Source : Straits Times – 24 Sep 2009

A NEW business park development being built in Alexandra Road has already had 40 per cent of its space pre-leased, and could have another 15 per cent taken up soon.

HSBC Bank, Unilever, American Express (Amex) and business software provider SAP have all committed to occupying space at Mapletree Business City, said developer Mapletree Investments yesterday.

Together with several smaller tenants, who will provide amenities such as restaurants and cafes, the companies will take up 40 per cent of the development’s 1.73 million sq ft of net lettable space.

Mapletree is also ‘in advanced negotiations’ to lease out a further 15 per cent, which it expects to close soon, it said.

With the economic downturn forcing businesses to put a lid on their costs, it ‘is not surprising that there is a ready market for projects like the Mapletree Business City’, said Mrs Lim Hwee Hua, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Office and Second Minister for Finance and Transport.

Mrs Lim was the guest of honour at a tenants’ signing ceremony for Mapletree Business City yesterday.

In her speech, she said the development ‘offers a cost-effective alternative with Grade A specifications and comprehensive supporting amenities’ for global companies and financial institutions seeking to house their support and backroom operations.

Business park developments, which are located outside the city and cheaper, have become more popular in recent years, as the escalating costs of centrally located Grade A offices force companies to move some of their functions out of the city centre.

Mapletree Business City, which is being built at a cost of $766 million, is due to be completed in the second quarter of next year.

It will house the regional headquarters of Unilever and SAP, which are said to be taking up 150,000 sq ft and 120,000 to 130,000 sq ft of space respectively.

HSBC will take 190,000 sq ft of space for its backroom processing centre, while Amex will locate one of its regional processing centres there, taking up 100,000 sq ft.

Mapletree chairman Edmund Cheng said the developer was able to secure pre-leases partly because it offered longer leases of six to 10 years.

This provides tenants with rental certainty in the face of fluctuating market rents, he said.