Major Firms Have Rosy Outlook On Singapore Office Market

SINGAPORE – Major companies, particularly investment giant Blackstone, local private equity firm TE Capital Partners, and property consultancy Cushman & Wakefield (C&W), continue to be upbeat regarding Singapore’s office sector despite a cooldown in transaction volume, reported Mingtiandi on Thursday evening (20 October, SGT).

For instance, Blackstone’s Singapore-based Managing Director Peng Wei Tan said owning office assets here is a smart move thanks to the city-state’s resilient economic growth and robust employment numbers.

“I think the fundamentals for Singapore office are some of the best in the region,” he said during the recent Mingtiandi forum held at ParkRoyal Collection Marina Bay.

“Singapore and Seoul are very interesting markets. Singapore obviously has really established itself as a regional hub and is here to stay. Its handling of COVID has been exemplary. I think there’s a lot of confidence in Singapore in general.”

Tan also expects the prevailing sub-4 percent vacancy levels to tighten over the next few years, as the stock of Grade A office properties are at historic lows.

Meanwhile, TE Capital Partners’s Managing Director Terence Teo said the increasing number of family offices and financial firms basing themselves in the city-state is a driver of office rental growth.

“If you look at it from that point of view, it’s not just these companies that are setting up, but I think companies in non-banking sectors, non-finance-related sectors, MNCs are looking to set up in Singapore.”

“The long-term prospects for Singapore, especially in the office market, I think will do very well,” he concluded.

Similarly, C&W’s Head of Research in Singapore Xian Yang Wong is super bullish on the city-state’s office market.

“If you’re an asset owner, I think this is the best time of your life because rents are shooting through the roof for office landlords.”