Mapletree Investments is currently building a four million sq. foot mixed-use development project, a stone’s throw away from the existing downtown financial district.

Courtesy Mapletree Investments

The Singapore Government recently announced plans to release a large ‘white’ site at Marina Bay to a single master developer for an integrated business and financial development. This site which is just adjacent to the existing downtown financial district, will yield about four million sq. feet of Gross Floor Area (GFA). However, the developer will be given maximum flexibility to plan and develop the project in phases over a period of up to 15 years so that the supply of space can match the growth in demand.

Taking a page from Canary Wharf in London and Battery Park in New York, Singapore aims to create an innovative financial city with the flexibility and attributes to meet the changing needs of the financial services industry.

The master plan builds upon the vision of developing Marina Bay into a City around the Bay. The development will boast an attractive 24/7 environment, iconic buildings with large, flexible floor plates, integrated lifestyle “buzz” with retail, hotel and apartment components, as well as a rich social and recreational experience; all centred around the bay.

The new business and financial center at Marina Bay mark Singapore's bid to secure its position as a financial services hub in Asia. The initial development site to be developed is called "Infinity at Marina Bay" which stands for "innovative financial city". The pending Free Trade Agreement between the U.S. and Singapore is expected to encourage migration of American financial services companies to Singapore. Following the liberalization of banking regulations, foreign-based central banks such as Citibank and Bank of America have already started expanding operations there.

Backed by an asset portfolio worth $3.1 billion, Mapletree was appointed as marketing and planning consultant for this project by the Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA), the national urban planning authority of Singapore. Mapletree's job is to find anchor tenants to form a nucleus of financial institutions for the project, attract high quality investors and developers for the site and advise URA on further enhancements to the master plan. Marina Bay is virtually adjacent to Singapore’s existing downtown waterfront. The location couldn’t be better for a global financial services company that wishes to do business in Asia. The project is currently in its preliminary stage with Mapletree in preliminary discussions with several potential anchor tenants that are in the financial services sector.

According to Khoo Teng Chye, Mapletree’s President and CEO, the project was initiated in response to the need of many existing financial services companies, already operating offices in Singapore, to expand.

Transforming Singapore into a global financial service hub is a stated goal of the government. Already, financial services account for 12 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Singapore is ranked among the top most sophisticated financial markets in the world by the World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report and is the fourth largest foreign exchange trading center in the world. More than 600 local and foreign financial institutions are already located there creating more than 100,000 jobs.

Citing Singapore’s favorable regulatory climate, highly skilled talent pool, world-class infrastructure and quality of life, Mapletree’s Khoo says the company aims to attract not only companies already operating in Singapore but also global financial services companies coming to Asia for the first time.

The Marina Bay project reflects the country’s increasing emphasis on attracting and retaining knowledge workers. This would be done by creating an attractive environment that will include 24/7 facilities, modular office layouts, ergonomic designs, large floor plates for trading floors, fast internet networks and sophisticated building monitoring systems.

In essence, the Marina Bay project is intended to create a financial services “ecosystem.” Related industries, such as accounting firms, fund managers, IT companies, regulators and information providers would be intermixed. Included in the master plan is the “city within a city” concept with in-house retail, F&B, hotel and residential amenities to ensure that people working in Marina Bay, need never have to step out of the development.

“Land planning is extremely important,” says Khoo, “because of the scarcity of land. There is a need for long-term planning.”

The first building for Infinity at Marina Bay is timed to be ready by 2006 for the WorldBank/IMF conference which will be hosted by Singapore. The project will be a showcase for the 10,000 finance professionals who are expected to attend the event.

Khoo says financial services providers thinking about locating offices in Southeast Asia should take a close look at Infinity at Marina Bay and at Singapore, not only in terms of its favorable business environment but also its quality of life, especially its top-notch education system, talent pool and cultural attractions.

Khoo was CEO and Chief Planner of the Urban Redevelopment Authority. During his six years with PSA Corporation, Singapore’s leading cargo transshipment company, he helped steer PSA through its transformation from a statutory board to the multi-national company it is today.

Mapletree has experience in planning, developing, marketing and managing such similar large scale development projects.

Some of its projects include its 22 ha mixed use HarbourFront Development, 6.5 ha Bryant Street Pier Project in San Francisco and the Marina City Project in Dalian, China. These experiences help the company to market and do master planning for the Infinity at Marina Bay project.