P2P exodus from Shanghai city centre leaving huge glut in office space
Savills forecasts vacancy rate of the city’s grade-A office buildings to hit 13.3 per cent in 2017
Shanghai will see a surge in empty office space over the next 18 months, as a large number of peer-to-peer (P2P) lenders exit the market, pushingvacancy levels to new peaks, according to leading property agents.
“The widespread retreat by P2P lending sector tenants has pushed up vacancy rates,” said Cary Zheng, senior director at estate agency Savills Shanghai Commercial.
“The market is facing pressure, as it is already oversupplied, and abundant new supply will arrive in the second half of this year and in 2017,” he said.
China Economic Weekly recently reported that more than 10 per cent of the finance industry’s new demand for office space in Shanghai came from the P2P sector last year.
The market is facing pressure, as it is already oversupplied, and abundant new supply will arrive in the second half of this year and in 2017
The government had previously hoped the sector could be seen as a shining example of innovation-led financial services development in China, leading many companies to choose to locate in some of Shanghai’s most prestigious office sites.
But a recent nationwide crackdown on fraud in the sector has led to a massive number of tenancies being surrendered.