New Star acquires prime property in Singapore

The New Star International Property Fund has recently completed the acquisition of the £42 million Parakou building, a newly-constructed 16-storey prime office building located in the prominent Shenton Way area at the heart of Singapore’s Central Business District.

The property’s strong tenant list includes blue chip companies such as Cisco Systems and Parakou Shipping. These strong covenants should help secure an attractive long-term income for the New Star International Property Fund.

Singapore is an attractive centre for investment due to its buoyant economic growth potential over the long term. Singapore, like London, attracts strong interest from financial services firms and current office supply is falling short of expected demand. Prime office rents rose 62% in 2006 and the medium and long-term prospects look healthy, as Singapore develops its new Business and Financial Centre.

New Star is actively seeking further assets to purchase in this region as part of the Asia Pacific component of the New Star International Property Fund. Other countries where properties are currently being targeted include Japan, Australia, Hong Kong, South Korea and New Zealand.

Simon Tyrrell, New Star’s head of property acquisitions Asia, says: “This is an exciting acquisition for New Star. New Star’s experience and reputation in Asia has proven invaluable when sourcing and securing properties of this calibre for our investors.

“Singapore has been a focus for the fund as it is a location with sustainable growth drivers and is a rival to Hong Kong as the financial centre of South East Asia and a gateway to India. This growth should ensure that Singapore continues to benefit from a strengthening supply/demand imbalance. We are planning further acquisitions here and are seeking further prime acquisitions in the broader region as the fund grows.”