SINGAPORE — JLL, a real estate consultancy firm confirmed that Singapore’s Asia Square Tower 1 has set an Asia-Pacific record of being the largest single-asset and office transaction in this region with a sale price of US$2.45 billion (S$3.31 billion).

The 43-storey retail and office infrastructure deal were sold this month by BlackRock, a global investment management firm to Qatar Investment Authority’s sovereign wealth fund.

The property sale exceeded the former largest single-asset transaction according to the figures released by JLL. In 2011, Singapore’s Mappletree Investment was able to buy Festival Walk, a retail and leisure complex in Hong Kong for US$2.41 billion.

“This is a highly significant deal on a number of levels. The sale of Asia Square Tower 1 is the largest ever single-tower office transaction in the Asia Pacific by a margin of US$700 million, outstripping the sale of Tokyo’s Otemachi Tower in 2014. But looking beyond the office sector, this is the biggest en-bloc transaction we’ve seen in the region since JLL started collecting data in 2004,” as stated by Stuart Crow, head of Asia Pacific Capital Markets of JLL.

He added, “This deal sends a strong signal to the market that Singapore is a choice destination for cross-border investors. There was considerable interest in Asia Square Tower 1 from a range of institutional investors in Asia and beyond, and across a variety of fund types.”

Mr. Crow also mentioned that the transaction does not come as a surprise given Singapore’s strong economic fundamentals and the world-class nature of the property. He said that the firm is expecting some major real estate assets to be transacted in Singapore and the Asia-Pacific region this year.

Asia Square Tower 1 is located in Singapore’s Marina Bay business and financial district. It is composed of more than 1.2 million square feet of grade A office space and approximately 40,000 square feet of retail space.

Asia Square is also a stone’s throw away from the prime mixed-development condo Marina One Residences.

Read More: Singapore property market news