Hong Kong shared office firm sees leases surge on China demand

MAINLAND Chinese companies are pushing up demand for upscale shared office space in Hong Kong’s core Central business district.

The Executive Centre, the biggest flexible workspace landlord in Central’s grade-A buildings, saw a fivefold increase in new leases in March compared with January. About 70 per cent of the new tenants were Chinese companies, according to the firm.

The removal of pandemic restrictions in China and Hong Kong has led to an increase of client interest from north of the border.

“During Covid, the businesses in mainland China had time to reflect and organise themselves,” said Paul Salnikow, chief executive officer at The Executive Centre. “Now we are absolutely seeing a concerted flow of companies coming in tours of five, 10 people” to take up offices in Hong Kong.

The Executive Centre, owned by KKR & Co and Tiga Investments, holds about 70 per cent of the premium shared offices in Central. While multinational companies make up the majority of its tenant base, Chinese firms are growing. It recently signed Tongcheng Travel Holdings, an online travel agency, as a new tenant among other mainland financial operations.

Hong Kong has seen an inflow of businesses from a diverse range of sectors. “There are more companies from emerging industries like technology, media and gaming setting up in Hong Kong,” said Ada Fung, an executive director at CBRE Group. “They tend to rent in flexible space, unlike banks which want traditional offices.” BLOOMBERG