Asia Market Forecast – A Bright 2013

Having just celebrated Chinese New Year it’s a great time to look at the year ahead and reflect on the year gone by. Having recently attended a market forecast networking event in Hong Kong there were some interesting points made and some promising predictions for Asia, both in terms of the Construction market and other economic markets. Below is my summary of the event and the key issues we could face in the 2013.

Asia’s Growth
• Asia is still the biggest growth market worldwide with China leading way and stimulating regional growth which is expected to be around 7% in 2013.
• Countries like Indonesia in the Asia market will continue to grow and develop in the region
• Asia’s market growth was emphasised in a recent market survey which showed approximately 30% of core business worldwide comes from Asia – this is expected to increase even further in world markets to over 35% driven by growing markets in Malaysia, Indonesia etc

Global Economic Market 
• Europe is still the market with the slowest growth and carries the biggest risk; this market is likely to only improve slightly in 2013.
• Greece and Spain in particular still present a high risk. Poor growth is compounded by Austerity measures and lack of confidence from consumers.
• Outsourcing to China is still highly prevalent in the world market due to lower costs; however these cost saving margins are not as big as they once were, and outsourcing is moving to other countries in Asia like Malaysia/Philippines as they begin to develop. This helps stimulates the growth in these regions.
• Countries like Brazil and other South American countries are starting to emerge as economic powers and these markets will become bigger in 2013/2014.

Asia’s Property Market
• Hong Kong still has the highest rental prices per square foot. Although rental prices are expected to remain stable or drop in the coming year (excluding CBD). This is driven by the availability of cheaper alternatives and new developments.
• Businesses will looking to move out to new locations (away from the CBD) as transport links such as the MTR are developed/improved and where spaces are bigger and rental prices lower.
• Beijing will have the biggest increase in rental prices in the region over the next year – expected up to 70% increase
• South Korea rental prices are expected to be low (especially Seoul) due to massive development/construction driving prices low and availability up.
• There will be nearly double the amount new office space built in the next 2 years in Asia compared to America and Europe.
• Chengdu/Zhengzhou and Shenzhen  in particular will have large developments and an increase in office space over the next 2 years

With a promising outlook for 2013 in Hong Kong and the wider Asia region this could be the ideal time to find the new job you’ve been looking for. If you’re interested to find out more about the opportunities on offer please take a look at our current job vacancies and apply for the role that most suits your skills!.  We look forward to being of assistance!

Tim Cole
Maxim Recruitment in Hong Kong