Chinese students boost HK's commercial property market

Hong Kong's flailing commercial property market is getting a lift from the education sector as the number of Chinese students surges in the city.

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HONG KONG -

Colleges are snapping up offices to turn them into classrooms, while investors are piling millions into dormitories to capture the growing demand from mainland Chinese. The sector is emerging as a bright spot in Hong Kong's commercial real estate market, which has seen both leasing and sales plummet amid weak sentiment.

The education sector has become "a massive industry", Mr Joseph Tsang, chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle in Hong Kong, said at a media briefing last week. "Everything from school places to dormitories to educational facilities is in serious under-supply."

Hong Kong's education industry accounted for 12 per cent of the new office leasing by floor area in the current quarter, making it the third-largest type of tenants after the finance and professional services industries, data from Cushman & Wakefield shows.