Asia Square Tower 1, a premium office tower at Marina Bay, Singapore’s equivalent to London’s Canary Wharf, has been bought by Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) for S$3.4 billion ($2.45 billion) from a BlackRock-advised fund.

CBRE and JLL are the joint sole advisors on the transaction for the BlackRock-advised fund.

Rob Blain, the executive chairman, CBRE Asia Pacific, said: "The sale of Asia Square Tower 1 to the QIA underlines the strong demand for prime core assets around the world, and the ongoing appeal of real estate as a prized asset class."

"CBRE continues to work tirelessly to build advantage for its clients and this transaction is a great result for the BlackRock advised fund, the QIA and for Singapore itself, as the city cements its position as one of the most important commercial real estate markets in the world. CBRE is very proud to have been involved in this major transaction," stated Blain.

Jeremy Lake, the executive director, Investment Properties, CBRE Singapore, said: "We courted some of the world’s largest funds and leading investors for this exercise and without exception, all of them were in agreement that Asia Square is a premium office asset; the building quality and superior location in the expanding Marina Bay are indisputable."

"Marina Bay is Singapore’s equivalent to London’s Canary Wharf or Shanghai’s Liujiazui. The buyer and seller can walk away from this deal smiling as both have achieved excellent outcomes," noted Lake.

Asia Square Tower 1, which has Citi as its anchor tenant, was awarded Green Mark Platinum status and has world-class building/technical specifications. The tower boasts the largest floor plate in Marina Bay.-TradeArabia News Service