41 / 62
TODAY’S ALTERNATIVE, TOMORROW’S MAINSTREAM
Since the emergence of London in the late 19th century, finance has always been the
foundation of some of the world’s greatest cities. However, this hierarchy is now increasingly
being challenged on multiple fronts. The irrelevance of distance and boundaries have been
made possible by technological progress and transport networks but ultimately, it would be
the global financial turmoil in 2008 that dealt the crucial blow. Faced with onerous regulations,
dwindling margins meant that cost rationalization would take precedence. This has diluted the
presence of financial institutions in core CBDs as banks continually refined its operating and leasing
strategies to adapt to the changing business landscape. While the core CBD will still remain relevant,
due to a buildup of both soft and hard infrastructure through the decades, the rise of secondary and
alternate locations in the corporate real estate strategy of financial institutions will continue to gain
prominence.
Qianhai
China has high hopes for the Qianhai
special economic zone in the southern
boomtown of Shenzhen. Positioned as
a future international financial center
– a new Hong Kong Central or even
Wall Street of the Pearl River Delta –
Qianhai is intended to promote greater
business cooperation and integration
with Hong Kong just across the bay.
Some 20 million sf of total oce supply
as well as several large retail projects
are currently under construction or
planning, including two major Grade A
oce properties which are expected to
launch in 2016 and 2018, respectively.
Qianhai has the potential to grow into
a regional financial and commercial
center, supporting and complementing
Hong Kong, and serving as a kind
of back oce to the Asian financial
center an hour’s drive away. The zone’s
importance will lie primarily in its
impact on Hong Kong, the development
of Guangdong province, and the
upgrading China’s financial system.
Over 100,000 companies had
registered in Qianhai as of mid-2016,
looking to benefit from the zone’s
tax incentives and other preferential
policies, although few of them are
currently operating there due to the
current scarcity of oce facilities.
This should change as continued
construction activity over the
coming years generates high-
quality infrastructure and oce and
residential accommodation, which
are expected to be largely completed
by 2020. We anticipate that Qianhai
will evolve along similar lines as
Shenzhen’s Futian CBD, which a
decade of urbanization transformed
from a largely empty stretch of
land into the city’s thriving political,
financial, and business hub.
41