3rd HK Office Bldg Renamed Under Manulife

HONG KONG – The International Trade Tower (ITT) in Kowloon East has been rebranded as Manulife Place in honour of its new anchor tenant, reported Mingtiandi on Monday evening (13 December, SGT).

This represents the third office building in Kowloon East renamed after Manulife, a multinational insurance firm based in Canada.

“We are excited to broaden our footprint into another Grade A building, now called Manulife Place. This move is a significant milestone for Manulife in Hong Kong, demonstrating our continued commitment to investing in this important market and meeting the needs of Mainland Chinese Visitors as the borders gradually reopen,” said Damien Green, CEO of Manulife Hong Kong and Macau.

The rebranding is the 2nd moniker change for ITT, which links Kwun Tong Road and Wai Yip Street near the Ngau Tau Kok MTR Station. Previously, the commercial property was renamed by its current owner PAG from Mapletree Bay Point to the International Trade Tower after acquiring the office tower from Singapore-based Mapletree Investments in 2019.

The latest name change for the office building comes after Manulife agreed in April 2021 to lease 4 levels in the commercial property. Back then, it was Hong Kong’s largest office rental transaction for the year by floor area, and the biggest rental deal in Kowloon East since 2018 in terms of net floor area.

Manulife revealed that it has moved part of its staff to the newly renovated 145,000 sq ft office space. The newly refurbished workspace was initially be occupied by 2,400 agents, and can house a maximum of 3,400 agents

The open office space is designed to promote greater teamwork, foster learning, and nurture inclusion among agency teams. It comes with a comfortable and expansive entrance to welcome clients, and spacious common areas that encourage communication and creativity, as well as digitally-enabled meeting and training rooms that enable greater flexibility and productivity.