Brace yourselves for a wave of micro-CBDs in Asia by 2020

Expect rapid decentralisation in next few years.

A regional study of office trends by Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), released today, gathered 40 leading corporate landlords and tenants from Hong Kong, Singapore, Tokyo, Mumbai, Shanghai and Sydney in a series of roundtable debates.

The resulting Offices 2020 report reveals rapid decentralisation across all six cities as lower rents and new facilities in alternative CBDs, business parks and peripheral centres lure occupiers away from traditional central locations.
JLL noted that a wave of micro- and satellite CBDs looks likely to have completely changed Asia’s urban map by 2020.

Jeremy Sheldon, JLL Head of Markets for Asia Pacific, commented: "The world has changed dramatically since the GFC. The new paradigm, especially in the financial industry, is the need for efficiency in everything to compensate for the cost of new regulation. Basel III capital requirements add to costs further."

"So when banks start looking down their cost profiles real estate is the first thing, after human capital and IT, with which they can really do new things."