Big Tech Companies Use Rent Drop To Snap Up Office Space In Singapore

                    Global technology and Internet companies are snapping up office space in Singapore, taking advantage of a drop in rents caused by the coronavirus pandemic and the subsequent economic disruption that also hit the property market.

The firms setting up shop in Singapore include Chinese tech giants seeking to establish a base in Singapore to expand into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, Bloomberg News reported.

One of those companies is Tencent Holdings, which has chosen a co-working space for its first office in Singapore. Tencent is expected to take up 930 square meters at JustCo’s co-working space in OCBC Center East at Raffles Place.

Meanwhile, TikTok owner ByteDance has reportedly agreed to lease three floors measuring over 5,500 square meters at One Raffles Quay, in line with its plans to hire hundreds of staff in Singapore over the next few years.

Amazon taking over office space from Citibank

Amazon is expected to take over some of Citigroup’s office space in Singapore. Bloomberg News reported that Amazon will lease three floors covering about 8,300 square meters at Asia Square Tower 1.

To date, grade A office rents in Singapore’s central business district office have fallen 3.4 per cent, with further compression expected in the fourth quarter. Landlords have been pressed to continue offering higher incentives such as rent-free periods.

The relatively strong take-up of office real estate by Big Tech in Singapore reflects a global trend of tech giants taking up more real estate in major cities during the pandemic.