Themis Qi
Sun Hung Kai Properties (0016) said UBS will be the first anchor tenant of its multi-tower development atop the High-Speed Rail's West Kowloon Terminus.
The Swiss bank will relocate its Hong Kong operations to the top nine floors of the tallest tower, taking up a floor area of approximately 250,000 square feet.
Though the rents have not been made public, the developer might refer to its other office tower in the same area - the International Commerce Center - where monthly rents currently range from HK$80 to HK$90 per square foot, said Doris Wong Mei-shan, a senior account manager of Centaline Commercial. But Wong said the prices could change, since UBS will not move in before 2026.
In August, the 108-storey ICC welcomed China's first joint venture investment bank China International Capital Corporation, with reported monthly rents of HK$3.56 million, or about HK$75 per square foot.
SHKP chairman and managing director Raymond Kwok Ping-luen said the lender's relocation to West Kowloon is "a vote of confidence in Hong Kong as a key international financial center."
The 26-km High Speed Rail runs from West Kowloon and connects Hong Kong with the mainland's 25,000 km national high-speed rail network.
Amy Lo Choi-wan, Asia-Pacific co-head of UBS Wealth Management and chief executive of UBS Hong Kong, said the location of the new office will connect UBS "with the Greater Bay Area" and "major cities on the mainland."
SHKP's project atop the station provides 2.6 million square feet of office premises and some 600,000 square feet of retail space. Its location is also adjacent to the Airport Express Line and connects to three other MTR lines.
It expects the project to be completed by 2025 and UBS could move in early 2026.
UBS has had its Hong Kong headquarters in the International Finance Center Tower 2 in Central since 2003.
But the Covid outbreak has seen overseas companies move out of Central and dragged down rents. An office in ifc Tower 2 was leased with a rent of HK$168 per square foot this July, 16 percent lower than the previous rental.
However, global investment management firm Invesco will relocate to Jardine House in Central by renting 33,000 sq ft in the high zone from November, Hongkong Land said.
A rendering of the project.
