Covid-19 forces businesses in Shanghai to leave central commerce districts to save rent
- A gap of 4 yuan per sq m in daily rent between CBDs and emerging commercial districts led to a rising number of office relocations since the middle of last year
- Anecdotal evidence suggests that a wave of business closures took place in the first half of 2020
“Companies affected by the pandemic have considered cutting rental costs to improve their bottom line,” said Huang Lu, head of research at JLL East China. “Fortunately, they could secure quality office space to meet their requirements in non-CBD areas in Shanghai while saving the 4 yuan rental costs.”
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In Lujiazui, a business area known as China’s Wall Street, office rental stands at about 20 yuan per sq m per day.
JLL was unable to say exactly how many office relocations there had been during the period.
Shanghai, the mainland’s commercial and financial capital, reported 1.7 per cent growth in its economic output last year, 0.9 percentage points below the national figure.
Lockdown measures between late January and early March last year caused devastating damage to companies in the commercial sector.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that a wave of business closures took place in the first half of 2020.