Alibaba\, ByteDanceExpand in Hong Kong as Banks Pull Back

Info-tech

Alibaba, ByteDanceExpand in Hong Kong as Banks Pull Back

Bloomber Hong Kong | Updated on June 11, 2020 Published on June 11, 2020

Chinese tech firms are expanding their footprint in Hong Kong even as the pandemic prompts some banks to consider scaling back in the world’s most expensive office market.

TikTok owner ByteDance Ltd and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd have signed leases to add office space in Hong Kong, according to people familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified as the matter is private.

ByteDance took out a three-year lease on about 3,000 square feet (279 square meters) of space in Causeway Bays Times Square, according to a person familiar. Alibaba has also signed up for one more floor spanning approximately 17,000 square feet in the same building, one of the people said. The firm currently leases three floors and a dozen more units.

Representatives for ByteDance and Alibaba declined to comment.

The new leases underscore the twin tech giants ambition to broaden their global footprint, as growth in their home market slows. While ByteDance is looking for the next global hit to replicate TikToks success in online entertainment, Alibabas divisions including e-commerce and cloud computing are tapping overseas clients and customers.

Bytedances valuation has surged to more than $100 billion in recent private share transactions, as investor confidence in the popular TikTok video platform grows. The company previously laid out an aggressive expansion plan of providing 40,000 new jobs in 2020. Those include two Hong Kong-based positions for crafting content policies, according to ByteDances job referral site.

Bank offices

The expansion of the Chinese tech giants comes as some financial firms reassess their office needs with so many staff working from home. The city is also mired in its deepest recession on record, and faces growing tension over a new security law proposed by China.

In March, Nomura Holdings Inc. decided to cut its space in Two International Finance Centre when a new lease takes effect at the start of 2021. Macquarie Group Ltd is handing back space in One International Finance Centre that the Australian investment bank had sublet to a co-working provider.

As companies look to cut costs, demand for office space has declined. The average vacancy rate across the citys major business areas rose to 7.2 per cent in April, the highest since October 2009, according to Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. Meanwhile, rents dropped 3 per cent in April from March, the property agency said.

Hong Kong’s Central district has the worlds highest rents for office space, averaging $313 per square foot, topping New York’s Midtown and London’s West End, data from JLL show.

Published on June 11, 2020

A letter from the Editor

Dear Readers,

The coronavirus crisis has changed the world completely in the last few months. All of us have been locked into our homes, economic activity has come to a near standstill. Everyone has been impacted.

Including your favourite business and financial newspaper. Our printing and distribution chains have been severely disrupted across the country, leaving readers without access to newspapers. Newspaper delivery agents have also been unable to service their customers because of multiple restrictions.

In these difficult times, we, at BusinessLine have been working continuously every day so that you are informed about all the developments – whether on the pandemic, on policy responses, or the impact on the world of business and finance. Our team has been working round the clock to keep track of developments so that you – the reader – gets accurate information and actionable insights so that you can protect your jobs, businesses, finances and investments.

We are trying our best to ensure the newspaper reaches your hands every day. We have also ensured that even if your paper is not delivered, you can access BusinessLine in the e-paper format – just as it appears in print. Our website and apps too, are updated every minute, so that you can access the information you want anywhere, anytime.

But all this comes at a heavy cost. As you are aware, the lockdowns have wiped out almost all our entire revenue stream. Sustaining our quality journalism has become extremely challenging. That we have managed so far is thanks to your support. I thank all our subscribers – print and digital – for your support.

I appeal to all or readers to help us navigate these challenging times and help sustain one of the truly independent and credible voices in the world of Indian journalism. Doing so is easy. You can help us enormously simply by subscribing to our digital or e-paper editions. We offer several affordable subscription plans for our website, which includes Portfolio, our investment advisory section that offers rich investment advice from our highly qualified, in-house Research Bureau, the only such team in the Indian newspaper industry.

A little help from you can make a huge difference to the cause of quality journalism!

Support Quality Journalism
Google quietly rolls out test version of Android upgrade