BNP Paribas is set to give up space in a prime office tower in Singapore amid rising commercial rents in the financial hub, according to people familiar with the matter.

The French bank, which occupies six floors at Ocean Financial Centre, plans to not renew some of the space in the central business district when the lease expires at the end of 2024, the people said, requesting not to be named because the matter is private. The move will help curb costs, they added.

From the fourth quarter, the bank will also move at least 300 mostly back-end staff at 20 Collyer Quay to Mapletree Business City – a business park located in the country’s south – to free up the location for those affected by the cut in floor space, the people said. The plans are not final and could change, the people added. 

Companies are seeking to control costs as the city-state’s commercial rents rise on the back of an influx of wealth and family offices. Prime office space in the central business district surged in the first quarter to a 15-year high, according to data from Jones Lang LaSalle.

BNP Paribas, which has about 2,000 staff in Singapore, declined to comment in an e-mailed statement. Keppel Reit, which has a majority stake in the 43-floor Ocean Financial Centre, did not immediately respond to an e-mailed request for comment.

The business park, which has about 2.9 million square feet of lettable space, is owned by Mapletree Pan Asia Commercial Trust, a real estate investment trust (Reit) backed by state investor Temasek Holdings. The Reit declined to comment.

Major banks in Singapore have long preferred to locate their back-end staff outside the city centre, where rents are cheaper. Venues such as Changi Business Park count Standard Chartered Bank, Citigroup and DBS Group Holdings as tenants.

Social media giant Meta Platforms is planning to give up seven floors in Singapore’s South Beach Tower late in 2024, The Business Times reported in February. BLOOMBERG