Taiwan enjoys boom in serviced offices
Serviced office providers in Hong Kong can broadly be divided into two camps in terms of business profile. There are homegrown companies specialising in providing premises locally, then there are the multinational operators keen on expanding across major cities.
Hong Kong has its fair share of both types of operators encouraged by favourable business conditions and the city's proximity to the mainland. Historic events such as the 1997 handover to Chinese sovereignty also spurred investment interest.
Now, it's Taiwan's turn to benefit from closer economic ties with the mainland - and the international serviced office sector has set its sights on the rise in demand for new office space that increased investment usually brings.
The Economic Co-operation and Framework Agreement signed by mainland and Taiwan officials in June has been cited by serviced office provider The Executive Centre as a boon for cross-strait commerce.
The Executive Centre announced a US$30 million expansion across the Asia-Pacific region this year and runs premises at six locations in Hong Kong, in addition to 30 offices across the Asia-Pacific including Tokyo, Sydney and India, and 19 premises in Greater China.
Next month, the company will be opening its second centre in Taipei at Far Eastern Plaza in the Dun Hua South central business district to add to its premises in Taipei 101 tower.
And the reason for success in Taiwan has been put down to the demand spurred by the signing of the economic framework deal which has seen occupancy levels at The Executive Centre in Taipei 101 increase by more than 25 per cent.
'Businesses have expanded into Taipei from the mainland, lured by the reduced barriers to trade,' says a company spokesman, adding that workspace solutions, including serviced offices, virtual offices and video-conferencing, make it easier for businesses in Taiwan and the mainland 'to conduct commerce and expand across the Strait'.
According to a survey by Regus, which provides serviced offices and consultancy services worldwide, businesses in Taiwan do not expect growth to gather momentum until early next year.
The findings of the survey, which were released earlier this year, seem to underestimate signs of a more buoyant sentiment noticed by The Executive Centre.
The bi-annual Regus Business Tracker survey's 15,000 respondents reported a higher percentage of businesses seeing revenue and profit growth rather than a decline. Though net growth companies in Taiwan were positive at +17 per cent, respondents believed the full momentum of economic recovery on the island would not be seen until six months later than they believed earlier in the year.
Other expansions by The Executive Centre this year included the opening of 17,600 sqft at Sanno Park Tower in Tokyo's Chiyoda district that contains more then 200 workstations, three meeting rooms, and one video conference-equipped boardroom. The company also has two other centres in Tokyo.
