For example, Comgest Far East moved into Chater House and National Electronics Holdings leased an office in Gloucester Tower of The Landmark.

Among other new tenants are Prudential Assurance and DFS Group moving into One Exchange Square and Aluminum Corp of China, Harvest Fund Management and China Intelligence Group leasing offices in Two Exchange Square.

Jardine House, Prince's Building and the Hong Kong Club Building also secured new tenants.

Raymond Chow, executive director for commercial property, said Hongkong Land's Central portfolio accounted for about 20 per cent of the overall market stock. But it closed almost 50 per cent of all leasing deals in the core district during the first six months.

Take-up was stronger in its buildings and, as a result, the vacancy rate of its Central portfolio improved to 6.2 per cent at the end of June, compared with a market average of 9.8 per cent.

The vacancy at Hongkong Land's Central buildings stood at 7 per cent last year and 10.8 per cent in 2002.

Its Central portfolio comprises 4.15 million square feet of office space in several prime buildings, and about 480,000 sqft of retail space. The portfolio will increase to 4.29 million sqft of offices, 604,000 sqft of retail space and 137,000 sqft of hotel space when The Landmark renovation project is completed in 2006 or early 2007.

The group achieved better performance in the past year despite competition from new buildings, in particular Two International Finance Centre, which tempted away some of Hongkong Land's tenants.

Mr Chow said the office market had experienced a difficult period between 2001 and last year but new buildings would have positive impact on the overall Central market.

'The addition of new buildings will enhance the critical mass in Central and reinforce it as the premier district for shopping and business activities,' he said.

Demand for offices rose substantially with the continued influx of multinational companies and existing Hongkong Land tenants expanding, he said.

Mr Chow said several companies moved their operations back to Central from fringe areas.

He said he was optimistic about the market, saying the upward office rental trend would continue. The limited supply of new offices in Central in the next few years also served as a boost.

AIG Tower, being developed by AIG Group and Lai Sun Development, will be the only building to be completed in Central next year. AIG will occupy part of the tower as its Hong Kong headquarters.

Hongkong Land's new office tower at Landmark East is expected to be complete at the end of 2006 or early 2007.

Mr Chow said the building would provide about 120,000 sqft of office space and the marketing campaign would probably start about 12 months before the scheduled completion.

The Landmark East tower is part of The Landmark complex's US$210 million redevelopment scheme under way. The project will convert part of Edinburgh Tower into a luxury boutique hotel, to be managed by Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, and house a Harvey Nichols store in its retail podium.

Mr Chow said the group had made sustained efforts to raise the value of its Central assets through continuous upgrade, refurbishment or redevelopment.

In 1997, it initiated the redevelopment of its aged property Swire House, which has become Chater House, completed in 2002.

The group also refurbished retail podiums at Prince's Building and Alexandra House to improve their value.

As Central's biggest commercial landlord, Hongkong Land prides itself on staying ahead of rivals in upgrading and enhancing building specifications and services.

Besides physical building improvements, Mr Chow said the group was the first commercial landlord to introduce a quality concierge service at its Central properties to serve tenants, tourists and the public.

He said it always stayed ahead of market trends to meet tenants' changing requirements. The company has recently upgraded its telecommunications support to make its Central portfolio third-generation-enabled.

Last year, it launched the Central Cityscape Pilot Scheme to enhance the street-level environment in Central with stylish pavement treatments and finishes, street furniture, signage, greenery and improved lighting.

The group aims to help create a visually pleasing world-class cityscape in Central to improve the quality of life and the attraction of working and shopping in the area.