Multinationals dominate leasing transactions in 2H 2012 - 1Q13

The largest to-date has leased an estimated 210,000sf.

According to UOB Kay Hian, office demand will continue to surprise in 2013, with multiple large leasing contracts signed by multinationals Shell, Procter and Gamble, Neptune Orient Lines and the Singapore Exchange back office committing to a combined demand of over 600,000sf of space at The Metropolis in Buona Vista in 1Q13.

This,it said, follows the higher-than-anticipated office demand of 1.9m sf in 2012, which is higher than the average 1.2m sf p.a. of demand over the past decade. This came despite weaker 2012 GDP growth of 1.3% and slower demand from the banking sector.

Here's more from UOB Kay Hian:

Demand was driven by smaller firms in the commodities, trading, legal, IT and manufacturing space. Although larger banks such as Credit Suisse, Citigroup andUBS have announced plans to downsize, smaller banks such as CIC and SumitomoMitsui and insurers such as Allianz Group have been expanding their office space requirements.

Singapore is expected to benefit from a nascent recovery in the US and China in 2013, with GDP growth forecast to hit 3.0%, according to UOB-ETR. Office demand is set to normalise to 1.6m sf this year, based on our office regression-demand analysis.