Merdeka PNB118 skyscraper aims to become KLCC alternative

PETALING JAYA (Sept 24): The Merdeka PNB118 skyscraper coming up near Stadium Negara here will become an alternative location to Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), said its developer PNB Merdeka Ventures Sdn Bhd.

The Star reported that its CEO Tengku Ab Aziz Tengku Mahmud said a company that plans open their office “will have to go there”  thanks to the building's catalytic attractions.

The office floor plates average 20,000 sq ft and can be divided into quadrants, allowing larger corporations to take up a few floors and smaller companies to take up a quarter of a floor, he said at the Rehda Institute CEO Series 2018 in Kuala Lumpur today.

He added that Permodalan Nasional Bhd, the parent company of PNB Merdeka Ventures, has mitigated office oversupply issues by taking up half of the 83 floors of office space in the building.

Meanwhile, 17 floors will be taken by luxury hospitality brand Park Hyatt, which boasts “refined residential-inspired luxury experiences in top-tier cultural destinations”.

However, he did not say how much rent psf of the offices will be.

Menara PNB118  will also comprise a three-level observation deck with a restaurant and 16 floors of sky lobbies and amenities that takes advantage of its stature – upon its completion in 2021, the tower will be 630m tall, making it the tallest building in Southeast Asia.

Concerns about an oversupply of office space linger – according to Jones Lang Wootton's research published on Sept 22, there is 28 million sq ft of vacant office space as at 2Q18 with 17.5 million sq ft of that being prime office space.

The daily reported that The Exchange 106 – which is expected to contribute 2.6 million sq ft to existing office space upon its completion next year – at Tun Razak Exchange in KL had dropped its asking rent to between RM11 and RM12psf from RM17psf initially.