Swire Results Highlight Split Hong Kong Office Recovery
SCMP · 1 SOURCESabout 22 hours ago2 MIN
Summary
Swire Properties’ latest earnings show that Hong Kong’s commercial property rebound is no longer broad-based, but increasingly concentrated in the city’s best-located office districts . Its Pacific Place complex in Admiralty, beside Central’s financial core, outperformed with 98 per cent occupancy and selective positive spot rents from banks, asset managers and other finance tenants . By contrast, Taikoo Place in Quarry Bay faced more competitive leasing conditions as new office supply and rising vacancies weighed on demand, even as occupiers continued shifting into higher-quality buildings . The results underline a widening earnings gap between landlords with prime assets and those exposed to less advantaged submarkets .
Key Points
- Swire’s underlying profit increased 11 per cent to HK$4.9 billion, while recurring underlying profit jumped 36 per cent to HK$4.66 billion in the first half .
- Revenue rose 8 per cent to HK$9.41 billion, and reported profit rebounded to HK$3.63 billion from a year-earlier loss .
- Pacific Place in Admiralty was 98 per cent occupied, with selective positive spot rents as financial firms renewed leases and upgraded offices .
- At Taikoo Place, One Island East and One Taikoo Place were 91 per cent occupied, while Two Taikoo Place was 80 per cent leased .
- Chief executive Tim Blackburn said occupiers were moving into better located, more sustainable and amenity-rich offices, reinforcing Hong Kong’s flight-to-quality trend .
Why It Matters
The figures suggest Hong Kong’s office recovery is becoming increasingly uneven, favouring landlords with premium buildings in core districts near Central over those in areas facing heavier new supply . They also show that lower rents are not necessarily driving expansion, but are instead enabling tenants to relocate into better-quality offices, reshaping demand across the market .