COMPARATIVE STUDY ON SINGAPORE AND HONG KONG OFFICE SECTOR

Abstract

The Singapore and Hong Kong office sectors have performed differently for the period 1979 to 1989. This study focuses on four main aspects of office performance, namely, rental and price levels, rental and price growth rates, occupancy rates and yields. The differing office performance of the two city-states are attributed to factors such as the differing role of the government in the property market, dissimilar cultural characteristics, differing threats and opportunities confronting each city-states, differing trends of market balance of office space, differing political situations and differing inherent risks in each property market. Despite the more profitable performance achieved in the Hong Kong office market, deterrents such as volatility and political uncertainty overshadowed its prospects. On the other hand, Singapore's office market achieved a stable performance throughout the period.