Retail in Asia

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The largest office leasing agreement in 2018 in HK

Hong Kong Airport passenger traffic posts solid rise

DBS Bank (Hong Kong) has committed to lease a new hub at Two Harbour Square, the largest office leasing agreement in 2018 to date.

CBRE acted as DBS’s real estate consultant to secure seven consecutive floors, totalling 197,037 sq. ft. GFA, of the Grade A office building at 180 Wai Yip Street, Kwun Tong.

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The multinational bank has its headquarters in The Center in Central and another major office in One Island East in Quarry Bay. The new Kowloon East hub will address the bank’s businessexpansion needs and consolidate its middle office operations under  one roof.

DBS will be relocating to the Two Harbour Square office in phases from the fourth quarter of 2018.

The bank will occupy 3/F to 10/F of Two Harbour Square, a commercial building co-owned by Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited and Wong’s International Holdings Limited. The office floors are from 3/F to 26F. Each floor has an average floor plate of more than 27,000 sq. ft. and enjoys scenic harbor views. As the anchor tenant, DBS will be entitled to use the office building’s LED signage, which faces Victoria Harbour.

Lo King-wai, General Manager, Sun Hung Kai Real Estate Agency Limited, said, ”We are very pleased to welcome DBS, a long-time business partner, to set foot in Two Harbour Square. The new space represents a significant upgrade in size, nearly three times the size of their office in our Millennium City Phase 6. We will continue to work with DBS closely to address the bank’s business needs.”

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Darren Nugent, Executive Director, Advisory & Transaction Services – Office, CBRE Hong Kong, said, “CBRE is very excited to be involved in the opening of DBS’s new major hub in Kowloon East. The deal marks the largest office leasing transaction in terms of size in 2018 thus far. It also exemplifies that decentralization continues to be a trend in Hong Kong. Kowloon East has seen robust office leasing demand, with net absorption surging to 355,400 sq. ft. in Q1 2018, more than double the previous quarter. The average office rent in the area rose to HK$31 per sq. ft., up 1.7% QoQ.”