WeWork bullish on prospects of Chinese co-working sector

The demand for co-working spaces will likely rise in the aftermath of the novel coronavirus outbreak as an innovative, efficient and flexible way of working and the abundant community resources have drawn the attention of Chinese enterprises, industry insiders said.

Global co-working and space-as-a-service platform WeWork said it is bullish on the prospects of the co-working industry in China. The country's innovative technology and economy are still at the forefront of the world despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are confident about the future of China's co-working market. The number of Chinese companies and startups is multiplying, as well as their demand for working space," said Alan Ai, general manager of WeWork China.

He explained with the advantages on cost and flexibility, and strengths on improving member's work efficiency and team collaboration, more and more companies are choosing co-working spaces.

Ai said China has been a strategic market for WeWork to enable enterprises and startups of all sizes to accelerate their growth in the country and beyond. It continues to deepen its localization strategy in China by creating collaborative spaces and communities designed to power businesses.

"The COVID-19 outbreak may further stimulate the demand for co-working spaces. Although many enterprises have adopted remote working modes during this unprecedented time, the collaborative atmosphere, high work efficiency and convenient devices provided by offline working space are still difficult to be replaced," said Ai.

He noted that with the resumption of work and production, enterprises are actively looking for flexible working space to maintain business continuity and control operating costs, while ensuring the health and safety of their employees.

"Flexible working solutions become essential for business growth."

"Despite facing a series of unstable external factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, China's innovative technology and economy are still at the forefront of the world. China's economy will continue to maintain robust growth, all of which will inject strong impetus to the sustainable development of the co-working industry," Ai added.

He anticipated that large enterprises will increase business efficiency by innovating global real estate strategies and working more closely with other co-working space partners this year.

Business consultancy Frost & Sullivan predicted China's co-working sector will witness rapid growth in the next five years, with its market scale reaching 409.2 billion yuan ($58 billion) in 2022.

Co-working spaces offer cut-price rents, work space flexibility and networking opportunities. Lower rents and value-added services enable startups and small and medium-sized enterprises to work in premium office buildings in highly-sought-after locations.

WeWork has been operating in China since 2016. The firm entered some primary first-and second-tier cities such as Shanghai, Beijing, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and Chengdu.

"With the development and evolution of China's co-working industry, an increasing number of traditional enterprises are gradually adapting to co-working modes, and they have put forward new requirements. We are committed to providing one-stop working space solutions to more and more leading enterprises in China," Ai said.

The firm is also continuing to support the innovation and entrepreneurship of startups, along with the business development of SMEs in China.

For overseas enterprises looking to enter the China market, WeWork has partnered with Alibaba Cloud, the tech behemoth's cloud unit, to launch a one-stop platform called "China Gateway." This provides them with integrated services including cloud technology solutions, working space, enterprise services and business counseling.

Domestic and foreign enterprises affected by the epidemic find it more prudent to replace and expand the office property. SMEs, which faced increased financial liquidity risk in the short term, may have an impact on the office leasing market, said Shen Jie, senior director and head of office agency at global real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield China.

"After the outbreak, the co-working offices will attract more and more mature enterprises in consideration of flexibility," said Shen, adding there will be a new wave of reshuffling in the co-working industry in the future.

Shen added co-working service providers will offer more business development opportunities for their members in the aftermath of the COVID-19 outbreak. More professional, all-round services and equipment related to healthcare, green ecology and digital intelligence will appear in co-working spaces.

"The growth potential of the co-working market is huge, with 10 to 20 percent of the office buildings adopting co-working methods in the future," said Wang Xiaolu, founder of Chinese co-working startup MyDreamPlus.

He added co-working spaces have brought about a variety of resources and cooperation opportunities for member enterprises. They cover business, finance, the supply chain, and will speed up the growth of entrepreneurial and innovative startups.