Offi ce sector briefi ng

Singapore May 8, 2008

"’s Grade ‘A’ offi ce market continued its upward trend in the fi rst quarter of 2008 supported by demand from the fi nancial sector. Rents continued to rise, although at a slower rate than six months ago"

The leasing market characterised by pre-commitment URA release two more transitional sites for sale at the deals fringe of the CBD

Standard Chartered Bank takes another 225,000 sq.ft. Singapore Land Authority to move out from the central in Changi Business Park area

Transitional offi ce and State properties see good take- Investment sales transactions of offi ces increase up rates by 29 per cent compared with the same period last year

Image: The Central at Clarke Quay Savills Research

www.savills.com Offi ce sector briefi ng

Demand for Offi ce Space Remained Firm

Tenant enquiry levels remained steady, and coupled with Two adjacent transitional offi ce land parcels were recently the shrinking availability of space, resulted in a spate of pre- awarded. Located on Scotts Road and Anthony Road, the commitments for yet-to-be-completed projects. The trend is land parcels with a combined site area of 2.18 ha will yield particularly prevalent in the fi nancial sector. Swiss private a total GFA of about 285,244 sq.ft. Land Parcel A was banking group EFG Bank leased 52,000 sq.ft. or two-thirds awarded to UOB Kay Hian Trading at S$242.5 per sq.ft. per of an upcoming nine-storey offi ce block along the edge of the plot ratio (ppr), while Land Parcel B was awarded to Sun CBD. The building, which has a total net lettable area (NLA) Venture (S) Investment Pte Ltd at S$226.1 per sq.ft. ppr. In of 78,000 sq.ft., is expected to be completed in Q1/2009. addition to transitional sites, the SLA will be releasing about Other pre-commitment deals include American Express 368,125 sq.ft. GFA of state-owned properties for offi ce use International (Amex); Barclays; Pictet, a Swiss private bank; in 1H/2008. and Icap, a UK-based stock-broking fi rm taking up a further 210,000 sq.ft. in the Marina Bay Financial Centre. Vacancy Rates The reviewed quarter also saw another fi nancial institution moving their back-room offices to a high-tech building. The vacancy rate of Grade ‘A’ offi ces remains tight, standing Standard Chartered Bank has signed a S$206 million deal to at just 0.65 per cent. Almost all Grade ‘A’ buildings in the lease a build-to-suit building at Changi Business Park (CBP) Raffl es Place area are experiencing full occupancy. These to house its backroom operations. The six-storey building, include buildings such as , One George which is expected to be completed in Q1/2009, will have Street, One Raffl es Quay and . With 225,000 sq.ft. of space in Phase One to house up to 2,000 of the completion of Vision Crest and the offi ce component of the bank’s backroom staff. Standard Chartered will lease the The Central at Clarke Quay to be completed by mid 2008, space from the developer, Ascendas Land, for 15 years with no major Grade ‘A’ completions will be expected this year, an option to renew the lease for a further 10 year term. therefore vacancy rates are likely to remain in this range for at least the next 12 months. Meanwhile, transitional offi ce and state-owned properties also saw good take-up rates. For instance, the fi rst transitional Vacancy by Location, January 2004 - March 2008 offi ce by Scotts Spazio located along Scotts Road has already Beach Road City Hall & Marina Orchard Road secured a tenant. The entire four-storey block with an NLA River Valley Shenton Way Tanjong Pagar % of 150,000 sq.ft. will be leased to Prudential Assurance 40 for 14 years at S$6.50 per sq.ft. or S$975,000 per month. 35

Prudential will be giving up its 130,000 sq.ft. of offi ce space 30 at Fuji Xerox Tower in Anson Road and at Bugis Junction 25 when its leases expire this year. Similarly, Deutsche Bank has 20 also taken up 54,000 sq.ft., or more than one-quarter of the 15 offi ce space, at the former Institute of Technical Education 10

(ITE) Pasir Panjang. The state-owned property, with a total 5 gross fl oor area (GFA) of 218,891 sq.ft., was put up for rent 0 by the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) last year and was Jul-05 Jul-06 Jul-07 Jul-04 Jan-06 Jan-07 Jan-08 Jan-04 Jan-05 Mar-06 Mar-07 Mar-08 Mar-04 Mar-05 Sep-05 Nov-05 Sep-06 Nov-06 Sep-07 Nov-07 Sep-04 Nov-04 May-06 May-07 subsequently leased to RichZone Properties. May-04 May-05 Source: Savills Research & Consultancy Government Release More Short-term Supply Rents and Capital Values

In a bid to ease escalating rents amid the space crunch in With healthy demand coupled with scarcity of available the CBD area, government agencies are set to shift out of space, CBD Grade ‘A’ offi ce rents strengthened by a further the Central Area, releasing a total space of at least 215,000 4.1 per cent in the reviewed quarter to an average of S$14.7 sq.ft. by the fi rst quarter of 2009 for private sector use. The per sq.ft. Nevertheless, tenants’ resistance to the continued SLA is the second government body to relocate out of the upswing in occupation costs is becoming noticeable amidst CBD. It will move from its current 92,569 sq.ft. at 8 Shenton ample supply in the pipeline, which could be refl ected in the Way to its new 71,042 sq.ft. premises at Revenue House in declining growth rates over the past six months. the Novena area in Q4/2008.

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2 Offi ce sector briefi ng

Grade ‘A’ Rental Growth, Q1/2007 - Q1/2008 On the other hand, uncertainties in the market have put Q1/07 Q2/07 Q3/07 Q4/07 Q1/08 investors in a better bargaining position. For example, % Hitachi Tower, which was reported to have attracted a bid Raffl es Place 6.74 15.79 13.73 3.96 4.75 of S$3,200 per sq.ft. of NLA last August, was eventually City Hall and 5.85 16.15 14.29 6.96 3.31 sold at S$2,900 per sq.ft. of NLA1. Similarly, the S$2,600 Marina Bay per sq.ft. at which CapitaLand sold Shenton Way 3.53 14.38 15.00 9.95 2.50 to CapitaCommercial Trust (CCT) was lower than the Tanjong Pagar 5.50 9.74 14.14 6.74 6.20 S$2,700 per sq.ft. at which the asset was valued in a deal Orchard 2.87 12.33 10.35 6.44 1.30 last August. Beach Road/ 6.23 14.01 10.94 5.25 3.30 Middle Road Overall 5.18 14.02 13.19 6.45 4.10 Rental and Price Indices, 2000 - Q1/2008 Price Rents Source: Savills Research & Consultancy Q1/1992=100 200

180

160 While activity in the residential market has cooled slightly, 140 the commercial sector continued to see strong interest 120 from institutional investors. A total S$3.08 billion of offi ce 100 properties were traded in the reviewed quarter, with the 80 sale of Singapore Power Building and One George Street 60 crossing the one billion dollar mark. The total amount was 29 40 per cent more than was transacted in the same quarter last 20 year. Low borrowing costs and expectations of upward rental 0 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 Q3 Q1 reversions could have bolstered investors’ appetites. 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 Source: Savills Research & Consultancy

Major Private Commercial Investment Transactions in Q1/2008 In the last couple of months, Grade ‘B’ offi ces have become Contract Property Tenure Net Price Rate Purchaser more appealing to investors, particularly in the CBD area Date Name Leasable (S$ per as capital values for Grade ‘A’ investment stock seemed to Area mil) NLA reach a plateau. The stronger rental growth due to the spill- (sq.ft.) over demand from Grade ‘A’ offi ces proved to be another Jan Hitachi LH 999 288,600 811 2,900 Goldman Tower Sachs fund incentive that fuelled purchases. Jan Singapore LH 66 550,000 1,001 1,820 A property Power fund Consequently, the average Grade ‘B’ capital values grew Building managed by at a steady rate of 15 per cent quarter-on-quarter from Pacifi c Star S$1,600 to S$1,840 per sq.ft., while Grade ‘A’ capital values group remain unchanged from last quarter standing at S$2,800 Feb Lippo LH 999 36,194 99.020 2,736 New Star Building Int'l Property per sq.ft. (formerly Fund One Philip Street) Outlook Mar One LH 99 447,999 1,165 2,600 CapitaComm- George ercial Trust Street (CCT) Based on Singapore’s fundamentals, we maintain that the commercial property market will remain resilient. However Source: Savills Research & Consultancy in the shorter term, with the anticipated US recession and the ongoing global fi nancial turmoil, demand for offi ce space Despite current low borrowing costs, we note that deals may falter in view of pressures on headcounts, as fi nancial took a longer time to seal as banks tightened their lending institutions grapple with these issues. policies. The loan-to-value (LTV) requirements have been reduced to 50-70 per cent, compared to about 80 per cent last year.

1 Goldman Sachs bought Savu Investment Ltd, which owns Hitachi Towers, at an agreed value of S$811 million or about S$2,900 per sq.ft. of net lettable area.

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3 Offi ce sector briefi ng

The lack of choices in the CBD and rising occupation costs will continue to drive fi nancial institutions and companies to non-core business locations and take up the short-term alternatives offered by the government. As tenants’ resistance to higher rents in the CBD area increase, rents are likely to grow at a more sustainable rate of 3 to 5 per cent quarter -on-quarter. However, the higher demand in the decentralised areas will see rents in these areas fi rming up.

The investment market is also likely to remain healthy. The possibilities of capital gains in the shorter term will continue to attract keen interest from overseas institutions and funds. With limited upside in Grade ‘A’ capital values, Grade ‘B’ offi ces are becoming more attractive as capital values are expected to appreciate due to a lower base and the possibility of higher growth in rents. That said, Grade ‘A’ buildings, with the majority of leases up for renewal in the next 12 to 18 months, will appeal to these investors.

In conclusion, amid a turbulent global fi nancial market, more investors are likely to adopt a wait-and-see attitude. Difficulties in securing loans may also put a further dampener on investor sentiment.

For further information, please contact: singapore research & consultancy, singapore address Michael Ng Jessie Yeo Savills (Singapore) Pte Ltd. Managing Director Director 2 Shenton Way +65 6415 3618 +65 6415 7580 #17-01 SGX Centre 1 [email protected] [email protected] Singapore 068804 commercial, singapore research & consultancy, asia pacifi c T: +65 6536 5022 F: +65 6538 5540 June Chua Simon Smith Director Senior Director corporate website +65 6415 3623 +852 2842 4573 www.savills.com [email protected] [email protected]

This document is prepared by Savills for information only. Whilst reasonable care has been exercised in preparing this document, it is subject to change and these particulars do not constitute, nor constitute part of, an offer or contract; interested parties should not rely on the statements or representations of fact but must satisfy themselves by inspection or otherwise as to the accuracy. No person in the employment of the agent or the agent's principal has any authority to make any representations or warranties whatsoever in relation to these particulars and Savills cannot be held responsible for any liability whatsoever or for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this document. This publication may not be reproduced in any form or in any manner, in part or as a whole without written permission of the publisher, Savills. © Savills (Hong Kong) Limited. 2007. Savills Research

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This document is is prepared by Savills for information only. Whilst reasonable care has been exercised in preparing this document, it is subject to change and these particulars do not constitute, nor constitute part of, an offer or contract; interested parties should not rely on the statements or representations of fact but must satisfy themselves by inspection or otherwise as to the accuracy. No person in the employment of the agent or the agent's principal has any authority to make any representations or warranties whatsoever in relation to these particulars and Savills cannot be held responsible for any liability whatsoever or for any loss howsoever arising from or in reliance upon the whole or any part of the contents of this document. This publication may not be reproduced in any form or in any manner, in part or as a whole without written permission of the publisher, Savills. © Savills (Hong Kong) Limited. 2008. (III/08)