Competition for tenants in Central remains intense after the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) secured a 10-year deal with Hongkong Land to lease four office floors in Chater House at an apparent bargain price.
Neither party has released details of lease terms but analysts believed the net effective monthly rent for the space would be less than HK$20 per square foot.
Chater House is facing competition from other landlords struggling amid weak economic conditions, especially from rival tower Two International Finance Centre (Two IFC).
Nomura Group recently clinched a deal to lease three floors at Two IFC at a surprisingly low rent of about HK$20 per square foot.
This underlined the competition for tenants and raised fears of further rental declines.
With the SFC tenancy agreement in place, Hongkong Land said the office space at Chater House was 70 per cent let and the retail section fully leased.