OFFICE space in the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) in Wan Chai is now being offered for lease at half the amount being asked a year ago.
A year ago, the Grade A waterfront building was commanding $65 per square foot a month; today, there are eight vacant floors on offer for as little as $33 per sq ft.
The drop graphically illustrates the degree to which office rentals have fallen in Hong Kong over the past year.
The latest office market survey by City Property Consultants shows that office rents in the Wan Chai/Causeway Bay area have declined by an average 21 per cent since the beginning of the year.
In some strata-title buildings, like the office tower at the HKCEC, the fall appears to be considerably greater.
Property consultants Brooke Hillier Parker (BHP) has been charged with finding tenants for eight floors totalling 100,000 sq ft in the HKCEC vacated by Hongkong Telecom earlier this year when it moved into its new building in Quarry Bay.