Mainland brokerages, asset managers driving HK office rents

Hong Kong

CHINESE brokerages and asset management firms are underpinning Hong Kong office rents as the city cements its financial market ties to the world's second-largest economy.

Prime office space leased by financial companies north of the border was 148,000 square feet last year, a 51 per cent jump from 2013, according to data from realtor CBRE Group. Industrial Securities Co, a brokerage based in Fuzhou city in eastern China, and Sino Life Insurance Co are among those that have rented new offices in Hong Kong's Central business district in the last two quarters, CBRE said.