Amazon is poised to exit Asia Square Tower 1, where it has occupied about 100,000 square feet since 2021.

The tech giant’s lease, which is for three mid-level floors in the 43-storey building, is said to be expiring in July.

Shell is expected to be the new tenant for that space if ongoing advanced negotiations culminate in a lease being inked with the landlord of Asia Square Tower 1.

The building was recently sold by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) to the Singapore Central Private Real Estate Fund launched by Hongkong Land : H78 +0.57%. QIA is one of the founding investors of the fund.

If Shell signs the lease in Asia Square Tower 1, located at 8 Marina View, it would be moving to a prime Central Business District (CBD) office location from its current city-fringe premises at The Metropolis, next to Buona Vista MRT interchange station.

The space that the energy giant is eyeing at Asia Square Tower 1 is substantially smaller than its current office, which is said to be about 150,000 sq ft to 160,000 sq ft, in Tower 1 of Ho Bee Land’s The Metropolis office asset.

The energy giant has been there since 2014. Prior to that, it was at Shell House in the UE Square complex, at the corner of Clemenceau Avenue and River Valley Road, for about 15 years.

When contacted, a spokesperson for Shell said: “We regularly review our office requirements as part of our long-term growth strategy. Should there be any formal changes, we will update accordingly.”

Industry observers noted that the expected reduction in Shell’s office footprint in Singapore is in tandem with some of the reorganisation of the group’s business in the city-state announced in the past few years.

In April 2025, Shell completed the sale of its integrated refining and chemical assets on Pulau Bukom and Jurong Island, to pivot to more lucrative businesses in the region. The sale, first announced in May 2024, was to CAPGC, a joint venture between Chandra Asri Capital and Glencore Asian Holdings.

Shell said at the time that it remains committed to Singapore, with its role as an important regional hub for Shell’s marketing and trading business.

The group still has a lubricants plant in Tuas, one of its largest such facilities in Asia. It also continues to operate one of the biggest networks of petrol and electric vehicle charging stations in Singapore.

Also in April 2025, Shell boosted its commodities trading business in Singapore with the acquisition of liquefied natural gas trader Pavilion Energy from Carne Investments, an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Temasek.

Office industry players noted that Shell’s intention to relocate to Asia Square reflects the importance some multinational corporations place on having a prestigious CBD address as part of their strategy to attract and retain talent.

Higher rent, but smaller area

Market watchers estimated that Shell may have to pay a gross effective monthly rental of about S$12 to S$13 per square foot (psf) at Asia Square.

While this is considerably higher than the estimated S$7-plus to S$8 psf rent at Metropolis, the impact on Shell’s operating expenditure will be offset by the smaller space it is likely to lease at Asia Square.

The group’s lease at The Metropolis is said to be expiring in 2029.

Industry observers noted that typically, in such a case, the incumbent tenant would have to find a replacement tenant or tenants acceptable to the landlord in addition to compensating it for costs, including any rental shortfall, should the new tenants pay a lower rental rate than that contracted to Shell.

Amazon’s decision not to renew its lease at Asia Square Tower 1 is seen by industry watchers as part of the group’s consolidation of its offices in Singapore into a single location.

In February 2025, the tech giant officially opened its new offices, occupying about 369,000 sq ft, at IOI Central Boulevard Towers.

Prior to that, it exited One George Street, where it used to lease 45,000 sq ft, and Capital Square, where it is said to have occupied about 110,000 sq ft.

Amazon also used to occupy space within the former WeWork facility at 8 Cross Street.