China serviced office takes the lead

China has become the largest serviced office market in Asia's emerging markets in a sector that will sustain steady growth, according to a report by a leading premium serviced office provider in Asia-Pacific.

China has a network of 136 quality serviced office centers and has grown by 25 percent in the past 12 months, said the report by The Executive Centre.

The demand for premium serviced office space in first-tier cities is expected to remain robust, on the back of the global economy expected to start picking up gradually in 2013 and China continuing its rapid economic growth, the report showed.

The demand for serviced offices in China has been on the rise following a flood of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) from Europe looking for new business opportunities in China. Domestic Chinese companies are also showing a strong demand for serviced offices.

"China is now the key emerging market destination for European SMEs at a time of ongoing global economic uncertainty," said Paul Salnikow, chairman and CEO of The Executive Centre.

The China serviced office market has been on a steadily upswinging trend since 2005. According to a global serviced office market report, China is now the largest serviced office market among Asia's emerging economies, with 136 quality business centers, registering a growth of 25 percent in the past 12 months.

Shanghai is ranked as the largest market with 66 business centers and Beijing is the most expensive developed market at $1,010 per workstation.