Skip to main content

Advertisement

Advertisement

BHP gives up chunk of office space in Marina Bay: Source

SINGAPORE — BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest mining company, is giving up four floors in Singapore’s central business district as it prepares to spin off much of its metals production, according to a person familiar with the matter.

SINGAPORE — BHP Billiton, the world’s biggest mining company, is giving up four floors in Singapore’s central business district as it prepares to spin off much of its metals production, according to a person familiar with the matter.

BHP, which has about 230,000 sq ft of office space at Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 2, is looking to vacate about 100,000 sq ft there, said the source, who asked not to be named as the discussions are private. The Anglo-Australian company will rent two floors with an area of about 40,000 sq ft at CapitaLand’s office tower CapitaGreen in Market Street, the source added.

BHP plans to split off assets including its silver, manganese and aluminium operations into a newly formed company called South32 to focus on larger businesses such as iron ore. BHP and South32 marketing teams will be based in separate offices in Singapore, according to an e-mailed response to queries from Bloomberg News.

A lease has been entered into for the CapitaGreen building, BHP said in the statement, without saying how much space it would take. The miner is also considering consolidating office space at its Singapore headquarters at the Marina Bay Financial Centre, the company said, without providing details.

The average rent at Marina Bay Financial Centre is about S$12 to S$13 per square foot per month, according to property firm Cushman & Wakefield. At CapitaGreen, whose design uses greenery to make the building energy-efficient, it is about S$10 to S$11 for large tenants, according to the broker.

Monthly rents in the most sought-after office buildings in Singapore reached S$13.54 per square foot in the quarter ended Dec 31, a 25 per cent increase from a year earlier, according to property firm Savills.

Singapore prime office rents posted a 14 per cent gain in 2014, the strongest in Asia, according to a report from broker Jones Lang LaSalle, helping the city-state retain its spot as the most expensive regional office location after Hong Kong and Beijing. BLOOMBERG

Read more of the latest in

Advertisement

Advertisement

Stay in the know. Anytime. Anywhere.

Subscribe to get daily news updates, insights and must reads delivered straight to your inbox.

By clicking subscribe, I agree for my personal data to be used to send me TODAY newsletters, promotional offers and for research and analysis.