International property consultancy Jones Lang LaSalle today began its annual Global Executive Committee meeting, which was held in India for the first time since 2007. On the occasion, Colin Dyer, CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle, gave an update on the global office space front.
“Investors and corporate occupiers have clearly become more cautious due to mounting concerns about sovereign debt and the pace of future global economic expansion,” said Colin Dyer. “Still, unless there is a major economic setback, we believe that such caution will be temporary and will be replaced by renewed confidence in the final months of 2011.”
Alastair Hughes, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific at Jones Lang LaSalle, also announced two important business expansion initiatives. The first was the launch of its business operations Sri Lanka
“Jones Lang LaSalle is opening a full-fledged operations branch in Sri Lanka. It is the first IPC to venture out into this lucrative country, based on its findings that Sri Lanka is a real estate boom unfolding even as we watch,” said Mr. Hughes. “Apart from an immense market for organized commercial, residential and retail real estate services, Sri Lanka's progressive market policies give it an incredibly business-friendly environment that is very favourable to investment and economic growth. We see it as one of the most attractive investment destinations in the Asia-Pacific region.”
Alastair Hughes also announced the launch of Jones Lang LaSalle Residential Private Limited, a specialized services division created to cater specifically to the B2C market segment.
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“We are launching a dedicated Business to Consumer (B2C) residential services wing in India, which will build on the success of its existing residential business operations in the Asia Pacific region,” said Mr. Hughes. “The primary purpose is to sharp-focus on the broader opportunities of the residential business within the APAC region, particularly in China, Singapore and India.”
As part of this realignment, this business line will now be an integral part of the parent brand - Jones Lang LaSalle – as a separate business entity, in order to boost business synergies and address diverse customer needs within the Asia Pacific region, from both the brand and operational perspectives.
Anuj Puri, Chairman & Country Head, Jones Lang LaSalle India, offered a snapshot of the Indian real estate market.
“We are seeing high levels of new supply in the commercial space segment, and the absorption of this space is equally strong,” he said.
“Approximately 24 million square feet of office projects have been completed in this year to date,” Mr. Puri added, going on to state that though there is still an overall vacancy rate of 19%, the Indian office space sector is poised to grow by around 17% year-on-year between 2011 and 2013.
In 2011, office absorption will surpass the 2008 peak of 33 million square feet, with Information Technology driving most of the demand. “There is also strong demand from the industrial and manufacturing sectors. Interestingly, the banking and finance sectors are now focusing on outright purchase,” said Mr. Puri.
The latest office space report by the company’s Real Estate Intelligence Service division was also released.
