12 August 2010 - MGPA, the private equity real estate investment advisory company, and AXA, the global financial services provider, today announced that they have agreed terms for AXA to become the anchor tenant for 8 Shenton Way, Singapore.

The building, which has been leased for an initial six year term, will become a key hub for AXA’s Asian operations. AXA will occupy five whole floors totaling approximately 70,000 sq ft, with an option to lease another entire floor of about 14,000 square feet. In addition, approximately 2,400 sq ft of space in the main lobby will be converted into AXA’s customer service facility. The potential aggregate area leased by AXA is approximately 87,000 sq ft, which represents about 14% of the total office area available to let.

With the securing of AXA’s tenancy, the committed occupancy for 8 Shenton Way has improved from 83.7% to 92.4% as at 30 June 2010.

8 Shenton Way is a 52-storey Grade A office building located within the central business district and has a net leasable area of about 670,000 sq ft. The excellent visibility, accessibility, and potential for future expansion within the building acted as instrumental factors in influencing AXA’s decision to commit to 8 Shenton Way.

John Saunders, MGPA’s Managing Director, Asia Funds said:
“We are proud of 8 Shenton Way and the signing of a prestigious new client in the form of AXA is an endorsement of MGPA’s whole approach to managing its assets.”

Alain Adiceom, CEO of AXA Insurance Singapore said:
“AXA is excited about this move to 8 Shenton Way. Besides its convenient location with direct access to and from the MRT station, the bigger floor area will mean that we will have more common facilities where the expanding AXA family consisting of employees of AXA Insurance, AXA Life and AXA Regional Centre can interact on a daily basis. Also, as our business is growing, the available space for a bigger Customer Service Centre will serve the needs of our customers.”

MGPA

MGPA is an independently managed private equity real estate investment advisory company focused on real estate investment in Europe and Asia. Through its network of offices throughout Europe and Asia, MGPA currently manages US$10.4 billion in assets throughout these two regions. Its managed investments include development and redevelopment projects, joint-ventures and real estate operating companies in the office, retail, industrial, residential and hotel sectors. MGPA is owned by its senior management team and the Macquarie Group, a diversified international provider of banking, financial, advisory and investment services, headquartered in Sydney, Australia. For more information about MGPA please visit www.mgpa.com.

AXA Group

AXA Group is a worldwide leader in Financial Protection. AXA's operations are diverse geographically, with major operations in Europe, North America and the Asia/Pacific area. For full year 2009, IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 90.1 billion and IFRS underlying earnings to Euro 3.9 billion. AXA had Euro 1,015 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2009. The AXA ordinary share is listed on compartment A of Euronext Paris under the ticker symbol CS (ISIN FR0000120628 – Bloomberg: CS FP – Reuters: AXAF.PA). AXA’s American Depositary Share is also quoted on the OTC QX platform under the ticker symbol AXAHY.

AXA Insurance Singapore

AXA Insurance Singapore Pte Ltd (“AXA Insurance”) is a wholly owned subsidiary of the AXA Group, a global leader in Financial Protection. AXA’s operations are diverse geographically, with major operations in Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region. As of 31 December 2009, AXA’s IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards) revenues amounted to Euro 91 billion with Euro 1,015 billion in assets under management.

AXA Insurance has more than 250 employees in Singapore, serving more than 360,000 customers. AXA Insurance offers a wide range of personal and commercial insurance products with a choice of plans that suit the needs of every individual and corporation. It is one of the top three motor insurers in Singapore, the No. 1 health insurer in the General Insurance market and the 2nd largest direct insurer for cargo insurance.

Please visit www.axa.com.sg for more information on AXA Insurance and its products and services.