Dubai: HSBC Holdings Plc will start building a new Middle East headquarters near the world’s tallest tower in Dubai as the lender aims to combine staff from three other locations in the city.
Abu Dhabi developer Gulf Resources Development & Investment will construct the tower and sell it to HSBC Bank Middle East Limited for about Dh920 million ($250 million) upon completion in 2017, according to Jim Osborne, an official at the building company. GRDI recently sold a building it constructed for Standard Chartered Plc to Kuwait’s sovereign wealth fund. HSBC confirmed the plans in a statement Sunday.
Corporate occupiers in Dubai are building their own offices as most commercial towers built during the city’s real estate boom were sold to multiple owners, often with a different owner for each floor. Companies shunned those buildings to avoid dealing with multiple landlords and some are now teaming up with developers to build offices suitable to their needs. HSBC’s Middle East unit is planning to move its place of incorporation from Jersey to the Dubai International Financial Centre this year, according to the bank.
Spread out locations
HSBC, which first opened in Dubai in 1946, will start moving some of its 4,000 workers to the 20-storey building in 2018. The bank has staff spread across four locations including a building in Bur Dubai and offices in Emaar Square and Lufthansa building.
The new headquarters will include 320,000 square-feet (29,729 square meters) of office space. It will vacate three locations, only maintaining space in Dubai Internet City, according to the statement on Sunday. The headquarter’s total area, including parking and facilities, will be approximately 861,000 square feet, Osborne said.
