Originally Posted by
Bloomberg
Banks Chasing Asian Millionaires Create Singapore’s Canary Wharf
By Pooja Thakur and Sanat Vallikappen - 2012-10-09T16:01:00Z
Singapore’s Marina Bay area is emerging as the city’s new financial hub, with banks including Standard Chartered Plc (STAN) and Barclays (BARC) Plc taking bigger offices as they pursue Asia’s expanding ranks of millionaires.
As new construction pushes rents in the area lower, financial-services companies are consolidating operations from the central business district about a 10-minute walk away that was first built almost two centuries ago. Standard Chartered last year relocated from 11 buildings across the city to one tower in the new office area, while Barclays moved from six to two in the district.
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Marina Bay Sands stands in Singapore. Photographer: Sam Kang Li/Bloomberg
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People walk near highrise buildings of Raffles place in Singapore. Photographer: Roslan Rahman/AFP/Getty Images
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Marina Bay Financial Centre, left, stands in the central business district as workers set up an outdoor sitting area in Singapore. Photographer: Sam Kang Li/Bloomberg
“Our growth in Singapore has been incredibly quick over the past few years,” Tony Padgett, head of corporate real estate services at Barclays in Singapore, said in an interview. “Banks tend to go for the prime locations in cities, they gravitate towards the same area like they’ve done in Canary Wharf in London or Wall Street in New York.”