IOI Properties to bank on strong demand for prime office space in Singapore

KUALA LUMPUR (Nov 14): IOI Properties Group Bhd, which has won a bidding war over a sought-after prime land parcel in Singapore, said recently it will leverage on the strong demand for prime office space in the republic.

“The site is ideally located within the Marina Bay area – Singapore’s premier financial and business district. The future development will be linked directly to the surrounding developments at One Raffles Quay, Marina Bay Financial Centre, as well as the office clusters at Raffles Place and Shenton Way via an extensive network of at-grade, underground and overhead pedestrian links," its group executive chairman Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng said in a statement recently.

The 10,868.70 sq m (1.09ha) parcel of land is strategically located with a prominent frontage along Central Boulevard and Raffles Quay-Shenton Way.

He noted that the parcel is seamlessly connected to the adjacent downtown mass rapid transit (MRT) station, namely Raffles Place MRT Station and the future Shenton Way MRT Station.

"The development will be attractive to major financial institutions and multinational corporations. Based on the group’s experience in developing South Beach, we have strong confidence that we can offer another prime and iconic development at Central Boulevard,” he added.

IOI Properties had edged out six other contenders to win the tender, which included international property players such as Temasek-owned Mapletree Investments, Hongkong Land-Cheung Kong and CapitaLand.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia last week, IOI Properties said its wholly-owned subsidiary Wealthy Link Pte Ltd has successfully tendered for the land for S$2.57 billion (RM7.77 billion) from Singapore's Urban Redevelopment Authority. The bid is reportedly the highest for a government land sale.

IOI Properties said this latest addition to its landbank is an opportunity for the group to venture into prime office development located in the central business district of Singapore.

"It is envisaged to further add on to its existing commercial development of South Beach in Singapore, which is an iconic mixed-use development comprising office, hotel, residential and retail components in downtown Singapore," it added.

Current property developments in Singapore undertaken by IOI Properties comprise Seascape and Cape Royale at Sentosa Cove, Cityscape at Farrer Park and The Trilinq at Jalan Lempeng.

IOI Properties also said its South Beach investment property is enjoying "almost full occupancy".

"The group is optimistic that the proposed development of the land will contribute positively to its future revenue stream," it added. — theedgemarkets.com