Hong Kong’s office supply set to be outstripped by demand
Current proposals for development of office space in CBD, Kowloon East and elsewhere in Hong Kong will not be sufficient to meet space demands in the next seven years. This according to the latest Hong Kong Office Market report prepared by Knight Frank.
Assuming a rate of growth of 3% for the economy and 2.2% employment growth, as seen in recent years since the economic slow down, Hong Kong companies will be facing a shortage of office space equal to the capacity of four Two IFCs. If the local economy expands at the Compound Annual Growth rate of 4% and employment grows to 2.7%, the equivalent of up to eight Two IFCs will be needed to meet demand for space.
What does this mean for HR?
If Hong Kong will be needing between 16.9 and 21.2 million square feet of office space by 2020, and current plans are only set to provide up to an extra 14 million sq ft, the possibility for expansion will be greatly affected. Rather than sitting on their laurels and waiting for the big squeeze, some businesses are already taking a step towards flexible working arrangements, challenging the tradition of fixed work times and set work spaces. As HR Magazine has previously reported, companies such as Bloomberg, HKBN and the Lane Crawford Joyce company have already taken steps towards making better use of their office space, more flexible allocation of work hours and more creative methods of getting work done.
Paul Arkwright
Publisher
