Banks in Hong Kong turn to hot desks to better utilise expensive office space

The owner of a prime office complex in the city’s Central financial district says some banks have switched to hot desks for more efficient use of space as their finance teams become more mobile and location costs stand at historically high levels.

The trend is happening at the same time that global lenders such as HSBC and Standard Chartered are scrambling to lay out big cost cutting plans in the face of stalled economic growth as well as rising compliance related expenses.

“Certain banks are likely to launch hot desks, as a number of staff need to travel or have meetings from time to time and they may not need permanent desks,” said Ada Wong Ka-ki, chief executive of Champion Reit, a Hong Kong-based real estate investment trust which owns Three Garden Road at the heart of the city’s financial hub.

The glass and steel office high rise tower, formerly known as Citibank Plaza, is home to many multinational banking, legal and financial services firms such as the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s Hong Kong head office.

“More and more banks in Central will launch hot desks to save space,”said Wong, a former Citibank and JP Morgan investment banker, who predicts that mainland companies will remain a pillar of support for the office market in the city’s most prominent business district.

Mainland Chinese tenants, especially banks, securities and asset management houses expanding overseas, have been a key driver of demand for Central’s Grade A office rental space in an attempt to secure prestigious locations and make “a bit of splash” in the market.