Office rents in HK, mainland China likely to decline

Hong Kong and mainland China are likely to see declining office rents for the rest of the year. According to CBRE Asia Pacific, Guangzhou is tipped to see rents tumble by 3% for the rest of the year. Hong Kong's rents are pegged to fall 2.5%. Office rents in Shanghai are forecast to retreat 0.9%, while those in the tech hub of Shenzhen are estimated to see a 0.7% slide. Among Chinese cities, only the capital Beijing is expected to see office rents rise, with CBRE predicting they will improve by 0.5%. Singapore’s office market is likely to be the second-best performer with 8.3% rent growth this year. Seoul tops CBRE’s list with an anticipated 14.8% increase in rents.