Foreign firms surrendering more Hong Kong office space

Multinational companies surrendered more office space in Hong Kong last quarter as the economy deteriorated amid the pandemic, pushing the city's vacancy rate to the highest in 15 years.[HONG KONG] Multinational companies surrendered more office space in Hong Kong last quarter as the economy deteriorated amid the pandemic, pushing the city's vacancy rate to the highest in 15 years, according to Cushman & Wakefield.

Foreign companies made up of 61 per cent of the total surrender of office stock in the second quarter, up from 47 per cent in the previous quarter, the property agency said in a briefing with reporters on Tuesday. Cushman didn't name any of the firms vacating space. "There's no particular area or one type of industry, it's fairly widespread," said Keith Hemshall, head of office services in Hong Kong at the firm."That really is a result of cost-cutting and retraction of head count."

Tenants gave up a total of 949,000 square feet of floor area in the first six months of 2020, up from 646,000 sq ft in the six months prior. The rate of surrender jumped 55 per cent in the second quarter from the first, to 577,000 sq ft. The recent introduction of the national security law has also triggered worries that the legislation will harm Hong Kong's status as an international financial hub. The government announced on Monday that it could freeze and seize property assets under the new law if the owner is suspected of being linked to an offence endangering national security.

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