Prime office space in Bangkok may be getting a little more expensive during the next few years, according to Knight Frank’s latest Global Cities report. The research, which takes a look at the prime office sector in 31 leading cities across the world, revealed that prime office rents in the Thai capital could rise by as much as 8.3 percent between now and the end of 2019.
Part of the reason for the increase is due to Bangkok’s evolving economy that has become high-tech and forward thinking during the past few years. It is also an growing economy that will require office space in the near future.
“Bangkok may have missed out on the dotcom boom of the early 2000’s but the pivot towards the new digital economy has already begun,” Marcus Burtenshaw, executive director, head of commercial agency at Knight Frank Thailand, said. “This is evidenced by the rise of automation and shift towards industry 4.0 in the manufacturing sector. “
Bangkok is a haven for tech startups due in part to low operating costs when compared to other cities in Asia such as Hong Kong and Singapore. This, along with a strong base of local talent, has made it appealing to new companies. Of course, these new organizations are thinking outside of the box when it comes to office, which has fueled the growth of the city’s co-working spaces.
“Venture capital is increasingly flowing to entrepreneurs in a whole host of creative services using Bangkok’s relatively low cost base to start up new e-commerce platforms and online marketplaces, e-logistics services, e-payment systems, fintech, and even gaming where talented Thai software developers are winning global competitions like Microsoft’s Imagine Cup,” Burtenshaw stated. “This is supporting the emergence of new commercial real estate types such as collaborative workspaces, where firms like Hubba and Glowfish are incubating new demand for traditional and serviced offices as these firms mature and grow.”
