WeChat’s Chinese owner Tencent chooses co-working space JustCo for first Singapore office

WeChat owner Tencent will have almost 200 seats at JustCo’s co-working space in Singapore’s Raffles Place, according to people familiar with the plans

The deal paves the way for Tencent to make Singapore its beachhead for a push into Southeast Asia, joining fellow Chinese tech giants ByteDance and Alibaba

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Tencent will take up 200 seats in JustCo’s co-working space in Raffles Place, Singapore’s financial district, according to people familiar with the plan. Photo: AFP

Published: 2:49pm, 16 Oct 2020Updated: 2:49pm, 16 Oct 2020

Tencent Holdings has chosen a co-working space for its first office in Singapore, joining other Chinese tech giants in using the city state for a launching pad into the rest of Asia.

The WeChat owner will have almost 200 seats at JustCo’s co-working space in OCBC Centre East at Raffles Place, according to people familiar with the plans, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. The space amounts to 10,000 sq ft.

The lease runs for one year, giving China’s largest social media and video-gaming company flexibility to seek a larger space as it adds staff, the people said. Tencent said in September that it would open an office in Singapore.

Representatives for Tencent and JustCo did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The deal paves the way for Tencent to make Singapore its beachhead for a push into Southeast Asia. ByteDance, the owner of popular video app TikTok, is also expanding its office space in the city state, while Alibaba Group Holding earlier this year bought a 50 per cent stake in a Singapore office tower.

(Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.)