Gesco buys Worli building
The Great Eastern Shipping Com pany (Gesco) has purchased the entire building housing the corporate offices of the German-headquartered multinational, Siemens, located at Worli, in the heart of midtown Bombay.
Although the exact price of the deal has not been revealed officially, sources in Gesco confirmed that 440 million rupees (about HK$94 million) were paid for the 44,000 square feet of commercial space.
The figure paid works out to 10,000 rupees per sq ft, a good rate for the sellers, considering that some offices at Worli are available for 8,000 to 9,000 rupees per sq ft.
Real estate experts are of the opinion that the higher price is unlikely to affect the depressed conditions in the property market, which have persisted over the past two years.
Perhaps two of Gesco's requirements - the company wanted a floor area of more than 40,000 sq ft, and a well-maintained building - worked in Siemens' favour.
The building itself is in prime condition, and Gesco would have virtually no costs for external repairs or renovations.
Although the shipping company has purchased the premises, executives are unlikely to move from their corporate headquarters at Ocean House, near the Victoria Terminus in South Bombay, heart of the city's central business district.
'We have yet to work out the modalities on how to use the Worli premises,' said Ravi Sheth, executive vice-president of Gesco. 'But we are consolidating the businesses of our various divisions, and would like to house all our staff under one roof at Worli.' Gesco has, in the past two months, acquired two floors at the World Trade Centre in Cuffe Parade, South Bombay, while maintaining one floor at the Hongkong Bank Building at Fort.
'It is likely that once we get final possession of the Worli premises, we will get rid of both the World Trade Centre and Hongkong Bank properties,' added Mr Sheth.
For Siemens, its Worli sale is part of a programme of consolidation which began in 1992.
