Robust realty in Beijing
Updated: 2007-08-20 06:50
Several new food and beverage retailers, from foreign countries or other cities in China, also began to select locations to open outlets in the capital.
Aldous Chiu, senior manager of corporate affairs of New World Development Co Ltd, says there is still enormous potential in Beijing's commercial property market.
"There are more players in the market, but the overall pie is growing even faster and bigger," says Chiu. "China's commercial property, to some extent, is still at the emerging stage."
For Hong Kong-listed New World, market positioning must be different for each shopping mall, but its key competitive edge is the company's ability to deliver the world's top brands, Chui says.
Yet even with an accelerating supply of commercial property, rents continue to rise.
SOHO Shangdu, a commercial project in the CBD area, saw its contracts exceed 1.3 billion yuan in a single day, with the highest retail space leased at 120,000 yuan a sq m.
"One of the major reasons fuelling rising rents is that many international retailers are rushing to open their shops before the Olympic Games," said Liu Li, consultant general of Beijing-based Werkhart.
According to Jones Lang LaSalle, rental rates are expected to increase further due to strong demand and fewer future projects.
"It's projected that in the second half of 2007 the performance of the retail property market will continue to prosper and the average price will climb," says David Hand, managing director for Jones Lang LaSalle Beijing and Head of China Retail comments. "If the quality and location of a project are considered prime, retailers are willing to pay premium rents to access Beijing's best shopping centers."
(China Daily 08/20/2007 page7)
