Office tenants' relocation plans put on hold, says Hap Seng Land

KUALA LUMPUR: Office tenants have put their decision to relocate on the back burner for the time being, but the situation is unlikely to come to a standstill, Hap Seng Land Sdn Bhd said.

Director of property management Manfred Weber said there will come a time when a vaccine will be found and the Covid-19 pandemic will be behind us, even as the whole world is grappling with the situation today.

Weber was talking to five or six potential tenants pre-Covid-19 but things “slowed down” a bit when the pandemic hit.

Hap Seng Land is the property division of Hap Seng Consolidated Bhd and is involved in property development and investment. Other businesses within the Hap Seng group include plantations, credit financing, automotive, trading and building materials.

Weber was speaking to reporters a day after welcoming anchor tenant Tokio Marine Insurans (Malaysia) Bhd into Menara Hap Seng 3, its latest flagship office development located at the Jalan Sultan Ismail and Jalan P Ramlee intersection.

Tokio Marine took up 40% of the 200,000 sq ft office space net lettable area. A separate 43,000 sq ft is reserved for retail.

Collectively known as Plaza Hap Seng, it comprises three office blocks, namely Menara Hap Seng located at the former site of the MUI Plaza, Menara Hap Seng 2 and Menara Hap Seng 3. The first two office blocks are 98% occupied.

At a time when the Klang Valley is flooded with excessive office space and rising vacancy, Weber said they believed the quality of the building and its location are extremely important.