Julius Baer moved into spacious new real estate that has been inaugurated by Najib Razak, recently voted out and now in hot water over 1MDB.
The Zurich-based bank is not leaving the city-state though but is moving to even larger premises located close by. By the end of June Julius Baer will have moved about 800 employees a few hundred metres from its current home to a «high density floor» at Marina One in Singapore.
Marina One which spans 1.88 million square feet of office space, consists of two office towers with bridges built at the 28th and 29th floors to connect both towers, thereby creating adjoining office space of 100,000 square feet.
Google as a Neighbour
As well as securing one of the largest prime Grade A office floor plates in Asia, the bank managed to grab the 28th floor an auspicious number for many of its Asian based clients. The new Julius Baer office is said to be able to accommodate up to 1,000 people. While the Swiss bank will move in on the 28th floor, the 29th floor will be used by U.S. tech firm Facebook.
The development was launched in January 2018 by Malaysia’s then Prime Minister Najib Razak, now under investigation for his links the tainted state wealth fund 1 MDB, and Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.
Crossing a Psychological Mark
The Zurich-based lender serves the Asia Pacific region from a number of locations, including the Mapletree building in Singapore where the bank houses another 400 employees, but also in Hong Kong and India, making Asia its second home market. It is currently focusing on five key markets to achieve organic growth: mainland China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore and India.
At the end of April 2018, Julius Baer Group’s assets under management (AuM) had grown to 401 billion francs, a year-to-date increase of 13 billion francs, or 3 percent, crossing above the 400 billion mark for the first time. Asian business helped swell its coffers.
Dealing with Ultra-High-Net-Worth Clients
The bank has hired aggressively in Asia in in 2016 and early 2017. Its aim is to see the Asia Pacific region generating up to a third of its business in the near future. It also recently inked a deal with Thai lender Siam Commercial Bank, or SCB. Under the agreement the Swiss bank will provide advice and solutions to the ultra-high net worth customers of the Thai partner.
