Office rents rose faster in China's gleaming eastern metropolis Shanghai than anywhere else in Asia last year, according to the results of a survey.
The rise in Shanghai, China's largest city and industrial hub, was the third fastest in the world, the survey by real estate consultant Cushman & Wakefield said.
Rising 9.7 per cent last year, Shanghai's annual occupancy cost was reported at 2,878 Yuan ($347.70) a square metre, ranking 29th in the world, it said.
Monterrey, Mexico, topped the growth rate at 10.5 per cent, followed by Brussels, Belgium, with 10 per cent.
The annual survey monitored the world's 202 top office locations in 45 countries. In about 40 per cent of the locations, rents either rose or were stable last year.
Shanghai became the most expensive city on China's mainland in 2003 although it still ranks far behind Hong Kong, which ranked 17th in the world.
Cushman & Wakefield China's executive director of agency services, Chris Cuff, said the huge increase in new office space in Shanghai was surpassed by even greater growth in demand from both local and multinational companies.
"New demand is expected to continue to outpace new supply for at least the next two years, leading to lower vacancy rates and higher rents," Cuff said.
The blistering pace of growth on the Chinese mainland and the relaxation of business restrictions under the World Trade Organisation regime will continue to attract large MNCs to China, particularly Shanghai.
