From the fourth quarter, the bank will also move at least 300 mostly back-end staff at 20 Collyer Quay to Mapletree Business City — a business park located in the country’s south — to free up the location for those affected by the cut in floor space, the people said. The plans are not final and could change, the people added.
Companies are seeking to control costs as the city-state’s commercial rents rise on the back of an influx of wealth and family offices. Prime office space in the central business district surged in the first quarter to a 15-year high, according to data from Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.
BNP Paribas, which has about 2,000 staff in Singapore, declined to comment in an emailed statement. Keppel REIT, which has a majority stake in the 43-floor Ocean Financial Centre, didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
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The business park, which has about 2.9 million square feet (270,000 square meters) of lettable space, is owned by Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, a REIT backed by state investor Temasek Holdings Pte. The REIT declined to comment.
Asking rents at the business park range around the $7 per square foot mark, according to public advertisements, just over half of what is typically quoted at towers in the central business district like Ocean Financial Centre.
Major banks in Singapore have long preferred to locate their back-end staff outside the city center where rents are cheaper. Venues like Changi Business Park count Standard Chartered Plc, Citigroup Inc. and DBS Group Holdings Ltd. as tenants.
Social media giant Meta Platforms Inc. is planning to give up seven floors in Singapore’s South Beach Tower later this year, the Business Times reported in February.
