January 31, 2005

Hong Kong has risen 12 places up a table of the most costly cities to lease office space, with rents the fifth most expensive in the world, a new survey revealed.

Office rentals more than doubled - up 109% - in the past year to 637 euros (829 US dollars) per square metre, according to a survey by international real estate firm Cushman and Wakefield.

London was rated the most expensive with rentals of 1 571 euros a square metre, followed by Paris (945), Tokyo (723) and mid-town Manhattan (680).

A spokesman for the company attributed the rise to prestigious new developments that have opened in the Chinese-ruled former British colony. - Sapa-AFP

This article was originally published on page 6 of The Cape Argus on January 30, 2005