Shanghai, China
 

Shanghai and its Commercial Real Estate Market are unique in many respects. Did You Know...

•   Shanghai, the largest city in China and the eight largest in the world, is the primary logistics and distribution center of the nation. It has a population of over 11 million people and a metropolitan population of over 19 million people.

•   The city is one of China's most important cultural, commercial, financial, trade, industrial, and communications centers. Shanghai has become the nation's leading industrial and manufacturing centre because of its large, highly skilled, and technologically innovative workforce.

•   Shanghai represents 1% of China's population, but it produces an estimated total GDP of over $125 billion, which is about 5% of China's gross domestic product. The city also generates 13% of China's imports and attracts around 10% of China's Foreign Direct Investment.

•    According to the recently released government data, Shanghai GDP grew 12% year-on-year in 2006 and the actual absorbed FDI rose 3.8% year-on-year, in which the tertiary industry actual absorbed FDI grew 26.2% year-on-year.

•   Shanghai is China's transportation centre. It has one of the world's busiest ports in terms of cargo (handling over 443 million tons of cargo per year) and container traffic. It also has two airports and the world's most extensive bus system with nearly one thousand bus lines.

•   Currently there are approximately 154 regional headquarters, 196 R&D centers of Multinational Corporations and 105 foreign financial institutions in Shanghai. 

•   The commercial real estate market has been very active in the past 2 years. The demands for office, industrial and retail space remains strong as multinationals either establish or expand their presence in the city. 

•   In Q107, two new Grade A office buildings were completed (Plaza 66 Tower II and Hongyi Tower) releasing 1,209,863 square feet office space into the market; however, total absorption totaled 1,327,793 square.

•   Total office stock in the 6 most important districts is over 40,874,000 square feet, and on the second half of the year five buildings totaling 4,040,000 square feet will be delivered to the tight market. Rental rates are expected to remain at the same level or slightly higher for the rest of the year due to the strong demand and the limited supply.