CIMB opens new office above Change Alley Mall

Malaysian bank CIMB officially opened its new offices yesterday above the premises of Change Alley Mall at Raffles Place, which will be renamed CIMB Plaza.

CIMB had been at Singapore Land Tower for 12 years before moving to 30 Raffles Place last December.

CIMB Singapore chief executive Victor Lee said at the opening ceremony that the move presented the company with an opportunity to build an office suited for a hybrid workplace that would entail "hot-desking and co-working space, (which caters to) the need for agility and teams to collaborate more intimately".

The new offices include meeting rooms that can accommodate both physical and virtual participants, and collaboration pods.

Features such as temperature screening devices and cashless vending machines are installed as health and safety measures as workers return to the office.

Human resource head Jaime Rosario said: "Employees have been so used to working remotely for over two years, so giving them a choice to manage their work week improves employee well-being."

The relocation also allowed CIMB to occupy an environmentally sustainable workplace as the new building is Green Mark certified, after it received the Green Mark Award in 2020 for energy-efficiency.

CIMB Singapore has around 1,000 employees at the new offices, having shut down an outlet in Orchard Road last year as part of a restructuring exercise.

The office's official opening was held in conjunction with the ceremony to rename the famed Change Alley Mall as CIMB Plaza.

Mr Lee said the move is a significant milestone in CIMB's footprint in Singapore, but tenants are split on the rebranding.

Ms Mann Ngai, supervisor of Tanamera Coffee on the ground floor, said the change is good for business and brings more customers: "There are a lot of new faces nowadays - bankers and people who visit the (CIMB office) - in addition to our usual customers."

But the change might trouble delivery riders and services as platforms might not have the mall's new name updated yet, Ms Ngai added.

Ms Gerlie Ariola, managing director of delivery service chain Priority Mail Express, said the name change also brings extra administrative and marketing problems.

"We have flyers and posters with the old location printed on it, and we will now have to change the address cited on our website as well," she noted.

"But we are not too worried about business as many old customers still use our services."