WeWork Greater China said the value of its transactions in the Hong Kong market increased 117 per in the first quarter of this year compared with its previous three-month period. “We see more mainland enterprises that want to go overseas, and they target Hong Kong as their first stop … a launch pad to tap the global market,” Quan said.

“Meanwhile, global companies that want to tap the Chinese market will also eye Hong Kong. Thus, it’s a very good time and opportunity for us to focus on and invest in the city.”

In its most recent move, the firm opened a 10,000 sq ft coworking space at 9 Queen’s Road Central last year. The space, where the occupancy rate has reached about 70 to 80 per cent according to WeWork Greater China, was the firm’s first foray into the Hong Kong market after it shut several spots in the city in 2020.

WeWork Greater China remains committed to the WeWork brand and services standards, but with more autonomy to make decisions to meet local market needs, Quan said.

Of late, the firm is seeing demand from Hong Kong’s booming Web3 and virtual-assets industries, after the city’s government issued new guidelines allowing retail trade in cryptocurrencies from June 1. In recent months, the firm has received about 40 to 50 enquiries from companies that want to set up such businesses in the city, it said.

“Compared with relatively mature industries such as banking and finance, such new sectors with a rapid expansion pace are more likely to need flexible working spaces when facing various and ever-changing situations,” Quan said.

The firm currently operates seven spaces in Hong Kong occupying about 300,000 sq ft in total, of which six are on Hong Kong Island and one is in Kwun Tong, it said. It is in discussions to open more coworking spaces, Quan said.

WeWork Greater China’s expansion plans, however, come amid a rise in vacancy rates in Hong Kong’s grade-A office market. The overall office market recorded a negative net absorption of 245,100 sq ft in April, while the overall vacancy rate for grade-A offices rose marginally to 12.3 per cent at the end of April, almost three times higher than the average in 2019, according to data compiled by property consultancy JLL.

But the coworking sector still has room for growth, Quan said. “As the only certainty in this era is uncertainty, flexibility has become the most valuable asset for enterprises,” he said. “Turning to flexible [working spaces] rather than traditional office buildings has become a trend” for small start-ups as well as global enterprises, Quan added.

Chinese technology giants ByteDance and Meituan have separately rented a floor each in WeWork Greater China’s Lee Garden One coworking space.

The cost of rent and fitout in traditional office buildings cannot be ignored, Quan said, while a sudden downsizing or end to a long-term lease generates additional costs. But firms have more options to save such costs “if they take up shared offices as a choice”, he added.

Aside from Hong Kong, several projects are under discussion in Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen, the company said. Additionally, it opened a new space in Wuhan in May, and two projects in Beijing and Shanghai are to open over the next two months.

WeWork Greater China has about 100 sites in 12 cities in China and around 100,000 individual members and 10,000 enterprise members to date, the company said.