Demand for Jakarta offices lures overseas investors

WITH infrastructure projects and foreign investment fuelling an economic boom bigger in Jakarta than in the rest of the country, the demand for premium, mixed-used office space in the city from retailers, oil and gas companies and hotels is spiking.

Few buildings in the city of 28 million people have the floor space, safety features and support systems that appeal to big investors or foreign tenants, who are, by law, barred from owning property on their own. So aside from office space, foreign interests are also on a hunt for a local partner.

Singapore's GIC, for example, has teamed up with Indonesian investment house Rajawali Group to buy the 47-storey St Regis office tower planned on the city's busy Gatot Subroto Street. The building, one of only three Grade A office projects to be ready by 2015, will house the St Regis Hotel along with the head offices of multi-national corporations, luxury boutiques and high-end restaurants.