HK Office Market Continues To Be Supported By Mainland Chinese Firms
HONG KONG – Donald Choi Wun-hing, the CEO of Chinachem Group, said there’s still demand for Hong Kong office space by mainland Chinese companies, and many of them may set up shop in the city once all the travel restrictions are withdrawn, reported The Standard on Tuesday (27 September, SGT).
This is despite rising office vacancy level in Hong Kong, with many firms reducing their office footprint, while some multinational corporations have downscaled or relocated their operations in the Chinese territory amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Moreover, Choi revealed that that Chinachem’s new development called In One in Ho Man Tin is still awaiting presale consent from the government and units in the project may not be put on sale until market sentiment recovers.
Meanwhile, Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL) said that office rental demand from mainland Chinese Companies has proven to be resilient in certain Hong Kong districts, leading to a widening of of their footprint in the office market, albeit its much weaker in the market as a whole in past few years
JLL Hong Kong’s Head of tenant representation Sam Gourlay revealed that Chinese companies made up 12.1 percent of the new office leases in H1 2022, up from 3.6 percent in the same period in 2021.
“This trend would undoubtedly become more pronounced if Beijing began to ease its zero-COVID policy. Yet, with little sign of this happening, and the timing of a full reopening in Hong Kong still in doubt, the recovery will remain fragile,” according to an opinion piece written by Lauressa Advisory partner Nicholas Spiro on the South China Morning Post on Tuesday.
At present, mainland Chinese residents who travel to Hong Kong are still required to undergo 10 days of hotel quarantine and home isolation when they return.
