Samsung Research and Development Institute India-Bangalore (SRI-B) has renewed its lease for 420,000 square feet of office space in Bengaluru. The lease, inked with Bagmane Developers, spans five years and includes a lock-in period until April 2027. According to a lease renewal deed shared by analytics firm Propstack, SRI-B will pay an annual rent of ?500 million, with a 5% yearly escalation. This translates to a monthly rent of ?102 per square foot. The renewed lease, which commenced in June, covers the basement, ground, and ten floors, along with parts of the eleventh floor of the property initially leased in 2019, which expired in April 2024. Despite a global increase in vacancy rates for Grade A office spaces, India is experiencing the opposite trend. Raja Seetharaman, co-founder of Propstack, attributes this to growth in the GCC, BFSI, and flexible office sectors. He noted that Bengaluru is witnessing numerous large transactions, echoing a trend of high-value deals in Indian cities like Mumbai. SRI-B, Samsung's largest R&D center outside South Korea, plays a crucial role in driving innovation. It focuses on enhancing global flagship devices through advancements in multimedia, AI, and the Internet of Things, while also addressing the needs of Indian consumers. Earlier this year, Samsung Semiconductor India Research (SSIR) secured a 160,000-square-foot R&D facility in Bengaluru to bolster semiconductor research and development, planning to expand its workforce by over 700 individuals from its current strength of more than 4,500 employees. Bengaluru has led office space absorption in India this year, accounting for about a quarter of total leasing from January to June 2024. This surge is followed by Delhi-NCR at 16%, Chennai at 14%, and both Pune and Hyderabad at 13%. Additionally, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Mumbai have led in supply additions, collectively accounting for 69% of the total office space added during the same period, according to CBRE.