SINGAPORE: More than 70 per cent of the office space at Marina One and Duo had been taken up before its official launch on Monday (Jan 15).
Both developments by M+S, which integrate commercial, retail and office space, were launched by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Najib Razak and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on Monday evening.
M+S Chairman Azman Yahya and M+S CEO Kemmy Tan told reporters in a media briefing held before the launch that among the 70 per cent already leased out in Marina One, some of the occupants are tech giant Facebook, ride-hailing company Grab and financial institutions like Bank Julius Baer, Prudential and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG).
Duo’s 570,000 sq ft of Grade-A office space has companies like Abbott Laboratories, Chevron and Mastercard as its tenants.
Ms Tan said there was a trend of tech companies and financial institutions expanding the office space they are leasing, adding that the rental rates for both developments are in line with the market.
Speaking to Channel NewsAsia, Mr Azman said that M+S is already making profits. The company was set up in 2011, while construction of the developments started 4.5 years ago.
Marina One, which spans 1.88 million sq ft of office space, consists of two office towers with bridges built at the 28th and 29th floor to connect both towers, thereby creating a contiguous office space of 100,000 sq ft.
An artist’s impression of the Marina One building. (Photo: M+S)
The office at each of these two floors stretches 170m long and is able to fit up to 2,000 people.
M+S claims that it is the largest Grade-A office space in Asia.
Ms Tan revealed that Bank Julius Baer will occupy one of the floors, while Facebook will occupy the other, in addition to other floors in Marina One.
A garden, called the Green Heart, sits right in the middle of the development, surrounded by the office and residential towers.
Mr Azman said Marina One’s prime location at Marina South, along with the Green Heart which “gives a sense of tranquility in the city”, is the reason why the development is able to attract multi-national companies.
It was also revealed during the briefing that 80 per cent of Marina One’s 140,000 sq ft of retail space has been taken up. The occupancy rate is the same for Duo’s 60,000 sq ft of retail space. Most occupants are food and beverage establishments.
As for the residential units, close to 100 per cent of 660 homes in Duo have been sold.
Artist’s impression of Duo Residences 50m Lap Pool. (Photo: M+S)
Meanwhile, for one of Marina One’s residential towers, 80 per cent of 521 units have been sold. The same number of units in the second residential tower is slated to go on sale this year.
Marina One and Duo are the result of a land swap deal between the governments of Malaysia and Singapore in 2010, where three plots of land previously used by the Malayan Railway, along with three plots of land at Bukit Timah, were swapped with four land parcels in Marina South and two in Ophir-Rochor.
M+S was jointly set up in 2011 by the sovereign wealth funds of both Malaysia and Singapore to develop land parcels in Marina South and Ophir-Rochor.
Khazanah Nasional owns 60 per cent of M+S, while Temasek Holdings own 40 per cent.
