Changi Business Park, dubbed the “CBD of the East,” was a big draw for tech giants and back-end operations for global banks.
Photographer: Aparna Nori/BloombergA Struggling Business Park Deals a Blow to Singapore's Regional Hub Ambitions
A billion-dollar push by the city-state to create an alternative business hub near Changi Airport was once a big draw for banks and tech giants. Now it’s rapidly emptying out.
Singapore’s commercial real estate market has been a standout amid a global downturn, with one major exception.
Just nine miles from the gleaming skyscrapers that crowd the country’s Central Business District sits a 71-hectare (175-acre), billion-dollar example of the city-state’s push to create alternative business hubs. Changi Business Park, dubbed the “CBD of the East” was a big draw for tech giants including International Business Machines Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Global banks from JPMorgan Chase & Co. to Citigroup Inc. have also situated their back-end staff there.