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SINGAPORE: DBS will be shifting 35 per cent of its Singapore workforce into its new Asia Hub in the Changi Business Park by the first quarter of next year. The lender marked the completion of structural works on the new building on Wednesday.

The structural works have been completed for DBS' new 340,000 square foot building at Changi Business Park.

When the building called the DBS Asia Hub is fully completed, the bank expects to relocate 2,400 staff from its Shenton Way offices and Technopark @ Chai Chee to the new location. This will save on downtown rentals and provide other benefits.

Koh Boon Hwee, DBS Group chairman, said: "You can deploy people better rather than having them located in different buildings. Also, in terms of attracting employees, it's also easier for them to get to work.

"The parking is easier, and of course, in a location like this with the MRT coming up, I think it should be quite efficient."

While the total savings from the move are still unclear, DBS said it expects a cost reduction in rental to come to about 30 to 40 per cent.

The DBS Asia Hub is part of a multi-year strategic occupancy programme announced in 2007. This includes relocating DBS' current headquarters to the Marina Bay Financial Centre in Singapore and various business units to two main locations in Hong Kong.

DBS is not the only bank to move operations out of Singapore's Central Business District. Other lenders like Standard Chartered, Citibank and Credit Suisse are also taking similar strategies to build synergies and save on rentals.