Singapore

 

Singapore and its Commercial Real Estate Market are unique in many respects. Did You Know...

•   Singapore, located on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, is the smallest country in Southeast Asia. It has a population of about 4.4 million people.

•   Foreign investment and rapid government-led industrialization have made Singapore one of the most developed countries in the world. Its economy relies heavily on exports refining imported goods, especially in manufacturing.

•    As a result of its fast paced industrialization, Singapore is recognized as one of the four original "East Asian Tigers," along with Hong Kong, South Korea, and Taiwan. 

•   The Economist has ranked Singapore first in all of Asia and eleventh in the world for its quality of life. It is also the 22^nd wealthiest country in the world in terms of GDP per capita.

•   Singapore has been rated as the most business-friendly economy in the world, and it is the world's fourth largest foreign exchange trading center after London, New York City, and Tokyo. 

•   Singapore has one of the world's busiest ports in terms of shipping tonnage and containerized traffic. In addition, Singapore is the world's busiest hub for transshipment traffic and the world's biggest ship refueling hub. 

•   Singapore has a very dynamic commercial real estate market. Over 2.9 million square feet of office space were absorbed last year, the highest absorption in the past six years. There are also low vacancy rates in most sectors of the real estate market. Occupancy rates of Grade A office space ranges between 95.1% and 99.1%. 

•   High demand and shortage of office space have caused rentals to increase 17% to 37% in most of the key micro-markets. Capital values of Grade A office space also had an historical annual growth rate of 48% in 2006.

•   The office space expected for this year will not be enough to satisfy the demand, and rentals will continue to increase. The government will release several sites to the private sector in an attempt to lessen the problem.