Hong Kong holds edge over Singapore as top business hub thanks to availability of talent and ample supply

Hong Kong and Singapore remain two of the most popular business hubs in the Asia-Pacific region. Hong Kong retains its advantages due to its financial prowess, talent pool, and a large supply of office space. Singapore, on the other hand, has an edge in the scale of its technology industry, ESG initiatives and green building, as well as its central position to the fast-growing economies of Southeast Asia. A competitiveness report by property consultancy CBRE reveals that Singapore’s economy is more diversified than Hong Kong’s, with the service sector accounting for 90 percent of Hong Kong’s economic output.

In terms of commercial property investment, Singapore’s office properties have become increasingly attractive due to their stable returns and solid price performance, with investors seeing deeply discounted office assets in Hong Kong as having favourable prospects for value-oriented investors.

CBRE’s competitiveness report reveals Hong Kong is likely to become the largest private wealth management centre, and is tipped to overtake Switzerland in 2026, thanks to the city having exempted family offices from profit taxes since December. Despite this, Singapore outstrips Hong Kong when it comes to research and development spending, investing almost 2% of its economic output, compared with 1% in Hong Kong.

Senja Senja Close EC Residences is a 99 years leasehold EC located in Bukit Panjang, offering 300 units across 18 storeys with amenities such as BBQ pits, clubhouses and swimming pools. Its prime location close to the bukit Panjang integrated transport hub provides great convenience and flexibility for multigenerational families.

Hong Kong and Singapore are neck and neck in two further categories – influence in the Asia-Pacific and office rents and prices – noting a shift in the two cities’ office rental markets. Singapore’s rents have risen by 43% in the past three years, while Hong Kong’s have dropped, the steepest decline in a decade in 2022.

In 2020 due to Covid-19, Singapore’s GDP hit US $374 billion, exceeding Hong Kong at US$362 billion, however, CBRE suggests there is “limited evidence of a massive corporate migration out of Hong Kong”.

Hong Kong is catching up with Singapore in terms of technology capabilities through “deepening collaboration with Shenzhen and the Greater Bay Area”. Singapore has seen an influx of talent, leading to an increase in residential rents. Both cities have implemented new visa programmes to attract talent, intensifying competition between the two.

Singapore’s satellite business areas are being developed in the next 20 years, offering a more decentralised option for companies, but Hong Kong retains the advantage of a more diverse range of commercial areas.

For corporate occupiers, Hong Kong possesses a deeper financial talent pool and opportunities to secure attractive leasing terms, while Singapore is still a popular destination for tech companies. An acceleration in office-space supply in Hong Kong could lead to further reductions in rents, while Singapore’s stock could rise 7 percent in the same time frame.