Why would i need a virtual office in Shanghai?

The city of Shanghai which is located at the river banks of the Yangtze River Delta, is the largest city in China with a population of over 10 million people. Strategically located on the east coast of China, Shanghai has historically been a busy port for trading and commercial activities. Even till this day, the importance of Shanghai is instrumental for China as this city is a center for economic, financial, commercial and communications activity within this rapidly developing country. With a GDP of 625.1 billion (2003), Shanghai has links with the central government and is an ideal choice as a regional headquarters for many international firms within the financial sector.

Therefore, with China enjoying an annual growth rate of 12% (2004), Shanghai contributes to this growth through a mushrooming of skyscrapers throughout the business districts of the city. The major business district in Shanghai is the Pudong district where the majority of the skyscrapers in the cities are located. Currently, the tallest building standing at 1535 feet in Shanghai is the Oriental Pearl TV Tower, which primarily functions as a transmission tower. However, an observatory constructed at the top of the building serves as a tourist attraction for sightseeing purposes. Perhaps the most unique feature about this tower is the 20-room Space Hotel, located in the middle section between the two larges spheres at the top and bottom of the tower.

Also located in Pudong, the Jin Mao tower is the tallest commercial building in China, and has been built with the largest observation deck located on the 88th floor, the highest floor of this building. With multiple users designated for this skyscraper, the 3rd to 50th floors are office space, while the 53rd till the 87th floors are occupied by the Grand Hyatt of Shanghai. Amongst the renowned office tenants of the Jin Mao Tower include the Shanghai Diamond Exchange, Compaq, Manulife, the American Chamber of Commerce, ABN Amro, law offices such as Barlow Lyde & Gilbert and Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance. This good mix of tenants therefore makes the Jin Mao Tower a truly suitable choice for a virtual office location. Other attractive attributes of this tower is the fact that it has been designed to withstand earthquakes of up to 7 on the Richter scale as well as typhoons of up to 200 km/h.

Other skyscrapers within the area of Pudong include the Bocom Financial Towers which are both standing at 869 feet. Furthermore, the Bank of Shanghai headquarters and the Bank of China Tower are also other high-rise buildings located within the Pudong district. The construction of these towers is in line with the reputation of the district as a financial center. This is why setting up a virtual office center at any of these towers would be suited for companies in the financial services sector.

The success of Pudong as a financial district is attributed to the designation of that area as a Special Economic Zone. This is particularly prominent on the western tip of the Pudong area known as the Lujiazui Finance and Trade Zone. In fact, the Jin Mao Tower and the Oriental Pearl TV tower had been built specifically to raise the reputation of this area.

Similarly, another area within Pudong that has been designated as a free-trade area is the Waigaoqiao area in north-east Pudong. This area with an area of 552 sq km on the eastern bank of the HuangPu River has been developed to attract foreign investments and is equipped with facilities and infrastructure such as bonded warehouse, deep water harbor, export processing, communications facilities and transportation access through an underground tunnel. Additionally, there are 6000 companies from 72 countries setting up facilities in this area, many of which are Fortune 500 companies such as Sony, Intel, JVC, Toshiba, Siemens, IBM, Swatch and Sharp.

Another commercial area in Shanghai where skyscrapers are also found in abundance is within the Puxi area in the Jing An District. Relatively older and more crowded as compared to the Pudong area, the Puxi area is where structures such as the Plaza 66 with a height of 945 feet, the Tomorrow Square standing at 934 ft and the Hong Kong New World Tower towering at 913 feet, are situated. Multinationals with offices in the Puxi area include BP, GE and Sony Music.

The Plaza 66 is the second tallest building in Shanghai and the tallest building in Puxi. With 66 stories on the first block and 44 stories on the second block, the Plaza 66 offers 55,000 sq. meters of office space. Apart from that, the communications infrastructure set up within this building is excellent, with unshielded twisted pair cables as well as fiber optic cables laid on each floor. This infrastructure has been set up as an effort to provide good facilities in order to attract companies to set up their corporate offices in the plaza. Thus, the Plaza 66 would be suitable as a location for a virtual office within Shanghai.

Apart from that, the Puxi area is also renowned as a cultural center, with The Shanghai Museum, The Shanghai Grand Theatre and the Bund all located within Puxi. Additionally, with the abundance of bars and pubs as well as two major shopping centers in Puxi, this location is also renowned for entertainment and shopping. Thus, it would be ideal to set up a virtual office for companies involved in the entertainment industry.

In conclusion, with Shanghai as an important commercial center for China and also as a booming city, it would truly be beneficial to set up a virtual office in this city. This is as with the recognition and association that this city has to offer, having a virtual office here would elevate the status of any corporation doing business in China.

Why would i need a virtual office in Beijing?

As the capital of the People’s Republic of China, Beijing is the second largest city in China with a population of 7.5 million within the metropolitan area. Located at the northern part of the country, the word Beijing literally means northern capital and is regarded as the political, education and cultural center for China. Apart from that, the strategic location of this city has made it a major transportation hub for air, sea and land transport. Therefore, accessibility has truly become one of the factors why Beijing has emerged as one of the centers of economic growth for the country, facilitating commercial development along the way.

Beijing has experienced tremendous economic development over the past decade, with the most recent growth in GDP of 13.2% between 2003 and 2004. This remarkable economic performance has largely been contributed by a range of high growth industries present in this city. In fact, the tertiary industry comprising of the services industry is the most productive in Beijing, with a contribution of 60% to the GDP. These would include businesses in the transport, education, entertainment, retail and financial industries.

A great portion of the city’s commercial activities are concentrated on the Beijing’s Central Business District located in the eastern section of the city centering the Guomao area. Indeed, this area known as the Chaoyang district has been identified for rapid development and is still undergoing massive growth today. Comprising of a 3.99 sq km area bordered by the Dongdaqiao Road on the west, Xidawang Road on the east, Tonghui River at the south and Chaoyang Road at the north, this area is poised to be a major commercial area offering much office space, exhibition space, excellent infrastructure as well as residential and entertainment facilities.

Among the prominent buildings in the area of the CBD is the Jing Guang Center which stands at 682 ft tall and consists of office space as well as hotel and condominium lots. This building which had been the tallest building in China before being surpassed by the King’s Tower in Shanghai serves as the corporate offices for companies such as, Caltex Oil Corporation, Bain and Company Chevron China, Chrysler and Coca-Cola. Thus, with so many multinational organizations occupying this building, any corporation setting up an office space or a virtual office here would be associated with the prestige brought upon by other tenants in the building.

Another popular skyscraper in China would be the centrally located China World Trade Center I and II. These two buildings of 509 ft and offering 39 floors of office space each serve as the offices for various international organizations such as the Bank of America, Hewlett-Packard, McDonnell Douglas, Merrill Lynch and Mobil Asia Pacific. Again, with such a long list of renowned names, any foreign corporation that wishes to set up a virtual office or an office space in Beijing should place the China World Trade Center as one of the most ideal venues.

One of the newer skyscrapers in Beijing just completed in 2005 is the Fortune Plaza which offers 720,000 sq feet of space for office space, apartment, retail and hotel utilization. Companies with offices set up in the Fortune Plaza include international names such as PriceWaterhouseCooper, Phoenix Technologies and legal firms such as Allen & Overy. With this, setting up a virtual office in this new building would be a good choice, as it is not only occupied by a string of international companies but also strategically located in the city center.

Another area of prominence beyond the CBD area would be the area of ZhongGuancun, also known as the “silicon valley of China”. This section is located close to two of China’s top universities – Beijing University and Tsinghua University – in between the north western section of the 3rd Ring Road and 4th Ring Road. Further divided into seven parks, ZhongGuancun is also home to prominent IT and electronics markets. Most importantly, this area is well-known as the birth place of some of China’s greatest technology companies such as Lenovo Group, Founder Group and Stone Group. Apart from that, Baidu Inc and Sina Inc are also another two renowned technology companies located in ZhongGuancun, specifically at the Lixiang Building. In total, ZhongGuancun is the center of operations for more than 12,000 technology companies in China.

One of the traditional financial districts of Beijing is the area known as the Beijing Financial Street, stretching from Fuchengmennei Street at the north to Fuxingmennei Street at the south. The government of China has designated this area to be developed as a prime financial location equipped with infrastructure and services produced for the purpose of boosting development. With such encouraging support, this area is now the center for over 30 major financial institutions such as the China People’s Bank, the Bank of China, the China Bank of Industry and Commerce, as well as the China Securities Regulatory Commission. Furthermore, this district also serves as the offices for many telecommunications organizations such as China Telecom and China Mobile. Finally, with 38 hectares of space ready for commercial development, the Beijing Financial Street would definitely work well for virtual offices of telecommunications or financial companies.

Finally, setting up an office space or a virtual office in Beijing should be an opportunity not to be missed. This is largely due to the fact that this is a fast-developing city, a fact that will spearhead the growth of any foreign company operating a virtual office here. Additionally, Beijing’s strategic location at the Far East provides with a reputation as the gate to China.

Why would i need a virtual office in China?

The word China literally means middle kingdom, a country in East Asia which is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. This country is a unification of many multiple states and is home to a population of 1.3 billion people and a GDP of 8 trillion (2005 estimate). Being a rapidly developing society, China is undergoing rapid growth especially in the urban areas. The 5 largest cities in China are Shanghai, Beijing, Tianjin, Wuhan and Shenyang, while the major industries in this country include electronics, textiles, food processing and consumer products.

As the largest city in China, Shanghai is located on the east coast of China, within the river banks of the Yangtze River Delta. This city plays an important role as an economic, financial, commercial and communications center of China. In fact, facilitating its growth is the status of Shanghai as a provincial status level as well as being the busiest sea port in the world. The district of Pudong in Shanghai has been developed since the 1980s and has now become the financial and commercial center for this city. This area is bounded by the HuangPu River in the west and the East China Sea in the east. Within Pudong lie the financial district of Lujiazui, the Zhangjiang technology park and the Waigaoqiao as the largest free trade zone in China.

Amongst the prominent buildings in this area include the famous Oriental Pearl TV Tower which is the tallest building in the city. This tower is mainly utilized as an observatory but also includes a hotel within its spheres. The second tallest building in China is the Jin Mao Tower which is utilized as a commercial building with 47 floors of office space rented out to over 80 tenants such as the Shanghai Diamond Exchange, the American Chamber of Commerce, ABN Amro and also law offices such as Barlow Lyde & Gilbert and Manulife-Sinochem Life Insurance. Apart from that, the Shanghai Grand Hyatt hotel occupies the 38 higher floors of this 1380 feet skyscraper.

Although the Lujiazui has been developed, another area across the river from Lujiazui is the Hong Qiao area which also consists of its own list of commercial skyscrapers including the Shanghai International Trade Center and the Shartex Plaza. These two buildings have been experiencing high occupancy rates and are offices to companies such as Air Products China, AT&T and General Electric. As such, it would be ideal to set up a virtual office at this central location renowned as a business and finance place.

The second largest city in China is Beijing with a population of 7.5 million, and which functions as the capital city of the country. As a political, education and cultural center of China, Beijing’s strategic location has also facilitated commercial activity. The central business district of Beijing lies in the Chao Yang area, bordered by the Dongdaqiao Road on the west, Xidawang Road on the east, Tonghui River at the south and Chaoyang Road at the north. Prominent buildings in this area include the China World Trade Center I and II and the Jing Guang Center. These skyscrapers serve as offices to international corporations such as Hewlett-Packard, McDonnell Douglas as well as Mobil Asia Pacific. With this, operating a virtual office or an office space out of Beijing would provide a company the recognition it deserves as being in the capital city of China.

Tianjin is another suitable location for an office space or a virtual office as it is the third largest city in China with a city population of 5 million. As one of the four municipalities in China, Tianjin is located along the Hai He River with the manufacturing industry being the major contributor towards the economy of this city. Apart from that, other prominent industries in this city include farming, fishing and also the petrochemical industry. This is due to the fact that the Dagang District within Tianjin is rich in petroleum and natural gas resources. Furthermore, other natural resources of Tianjin include manganese, salt, geothermal energy and also boron.

The area of Binhai within Tianjin has been identified for development as a Financial Center and is poised to lead economic development within northern China. Thus, approximately 10000 multinational companies have set up offices in this area and comprise of companies from the banking, security, insurance, consulting and trading industries, such as the Chohung Bank and the Binhai Developmental Bank. Apart from that, there is also an in-pouring of investments from Fortune 500 companies, such as Toyota, Kraft Foods and Motorola into local companies. Thus, setting up a virtual office in Binhai, Tianjin would prove to be beneficial for companies within the financial, manufacturing and petrochemical industries.

The city of Wuhan is one of the cities with the highest population numbers within Central China with a metropolitan population of 8 million. Major contributors to this city’s GDP would include the tourism, automobile manufacturing and hi-tech industries. In fact, Wuhan is the largest base for automobile production in China with companies such as the Wuhan Citroen-Dongfeng production plants located here. Apart from that, Wuhan also functions as a center of scientific research with the existence of 35 higher learning institutions located in this city, such as Wuhan University and Huazhong University of Science and Technology. With such economic development set out for Wuhan, setting up a virtual office or an office space in this city would be truly ideal for companies within the research, tourism and automotive industries.

Finally, the city of Shenyang is located in northern China and has a population of 7.2 million. As a center of commerce, many corporations have set up offices within the Shenyang Economic and Technological Development Zone, an area designated to attract foreign investment. These would include corporate organizations such as Coca-cola, Matsushita and Bridgestone Tires, which have set up offices in this zone. Furthermore, Shenyang is also a center for education with a string of higher learning institutions located in the city, such as the Shenyang University of Technology and the China Medical University. Thus, Shenyang would be a great venue for a virtual office of companies in the research, manufacturing and technology industries.

Other skyscrapers located along Queen’s Road Central include the Hopewell Centre, the Standard Chartered Building, 9 Queen’s Road Central, the Cosco Tower, the Edinburgh Tower and the New World Tower One. Many of the organizations that have set up their offices in these buildings include the Federation of the Swiss Watches Industry, the Honorary Consulate of Iceland, the Honorary Consulate of Croatia and the Hong Kong Registrars Limited. Therefore, the Hopewell Centre would be a suitable location for an office space or a virtual offices of corporations providing business services to these organizations.

Standing at 748 ft with 53 floors of office space is the Cosco Tower, with most tenants here involved in the financial services industry. These would include stock exchange brokerages such as Concord Capital Securities Ltd., Core Pacific-Yamaichi Securities (H.K.) Ltd and Rexcapital Futures Ltd. Apart from that, the core tenant COSCO Insurance Brokers Ltd has its office located at Room 4701. With such high profile tenants, the COSCO building is a truly ideal venue for a virtual office of security brokerage businesses or other types of financial services corporations.

Another major commercial building within Hong Kong is the International Finance Center, consisting of two towers out of which the Two International Finance Center is the tallest building in Hong Kong. These beautiful buildings are utilized for office space as well as hotel rooms, with the Four Seasons Hotel occupying 40 storeys of IFC Two, and the IFC mall occupying 4 storeys of the lower floors. Built specifically to attract businesses within the financial sector, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority occupies the top floors of the building, while other multinationals such as Ernst and Young, UBS AG and the Lehman Brothers occupy other floors within the building. Thus, with such recognized firms setting up offices here, it would indeed entice other companies to set up a virtual office at this location. With the latest building facilities, such as raised flooring for the trading floors, office space without any columns to facilitate easy planning, as well as a fiber-optic backbone, the International Financial Center has most of what is required to facilitate smooth business operations for any organization.

The second tallest building in Hong Kong is the Central Plaza which is located in the area of Wan Chai at 18 Harbour Road, which used to be the tallest building in Hong Kong before the Two International Financial Center was completed. One of the most prominent features of the 1227 feet plaza is the triangular-shaped floor plans. Apart from that, a church occupies the tallest floor of this building, which is the world’s highest church. Some of the international tenants of this building include Chevron Caltex, Sun Microsystems, Associated Press, Far Eastern Economic Review and Exxon Mobil.

The Center is the fourth tallest commercial structure in Hong Kong and is located along Queen’s Road Central within the Central financial district. One of the most prominent features of this building is the arrangement of neon lights from the bottom of the building, increasing in density as it reaches the top. This 80 storey skyscraper is now approximately 70% populated by around 40 technology firms, such as iLink and Netalone. In fact, one of the highlights of this building is the higher raised floors of 360 mm as compared to the standard 150mm. This is to facilitate the laying of fiber optic cables as well as to allow room for upgrades over the next 20 years. With this, the Center would ideally be suitable for virtual offices of technology or dot com companies. Indeed many of the existing firms here consist of incubators or service providers with objectives to facilitate the growth of newer tech companies operating in Hong Kong.

Other than the business district, many government agencies in Hong Kong are still situated at the Government Hill, which serves as the residence of the central governor as well as numerous other government administration departments. With this, businesses with activities that mainly deal with the local government should set up their practices at this location.

In conclusion, with its historical roots as a financial center, Hong Kong is equipped with facilities that would make it ideal location for a virtual officeor an office space. With the many regional offices of multinational firms situated here, doing the same with a virtual office within Hong Kong would place any corporation in the vicinity of its international counterparts. This will help to extend the reputation of the virtual office to this region.

Why would i need a virtual office in Hong Kong?

The region of Hong Kong, which is politically designated as the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the People’s Republic of China, had been established as a major international center for trade and finance, enjoying liberal trade policies since the time when it was colonized by the British more than a century ago. Although Hong Kong is now part of mainland China and administered by China’s political government, it still enjoys autonomous privileges as a region under “One Country, Two Systems”. With this flexibility, Hong Kong has continued to flourish as an international commercial center with a duty-free port that helps to facilitate economic growth for this city. This is one of the reasons why Hong Kong is the 11th largest banking center in the world and the 10th largest trading entity.

The economy of Hong Kong is primarily supported by trading activities including import-exports. Apart from that, the wide range of finance and commercial facilities as well as excellent communications infrastructure has enabled Hong Kong to become the regional headquarters for many multinational organizations. The Central and Western Districts within Hong Kong are regarded as Hong Kong’s Central Business District where beautiful skyscrapers fill the skyline overlooking the Victoria Harbour. Located at the northern tip of Hong Kong Island, the CBD area is also where the Government Hill is situated in addition to being the location of many corporate headquarters of large multinational corporations.

The major roads within Central Hong Kong include Connaught Road and Queen’s Road Central. In fact, this is also the location where the third tallest building in Hong Kong, the Bank of China Tower is situated. Standing at 1209 feet, this building has the headquarters of the Bank of China as its anchor tenant. Inspired by Bamboo shoots, the Bank of China Tower was a source for controversy with the sharp edges of the building resembling a cleaver, which was thought to be bad Feng Shui for its neighbors. Other companies that have set up offices in the Bank of China Tower include legal firms such as Pei Cobb Freed & Partners.

Other important roads within the Hong Kong Central area include Edinburgh Place, Lan Kwai Fong, Ladder Street, Soho and Hollywood Street. Edinburgh Place is where the Hong Kong City Hall is located, a venue which is prominent for concerts and opera in Hong Kong. This is also where the Victoria Harbour is located, one of the deepest container ports in the world. Thus, this would be a good location for a virtual office or an office space to companies conducting shipping and logistics businesses.

Hollywood Street is historically renowned as a retail area dedicated to the movies. This is where much products memorabilia is sold, such as antiques, furniture, Tibetan rugs, and ceramic horsemen from the Ming Dynasty. This would be a highly suitable location for virtual offices or an office space with dealings in the business of souvenirs and collectibles of the Hong Kong entertainment industry.

The area of Soho is well-known as an entertainment district, and is located south of Hollywood Street, hence the word So-Ho. This is where restaurants, night clubs, bars, art galleries and antique stores are found in abundance. The uniqueness of Soho lies in the fact that it is accessible only via the Central Mid-Levels escalator, which is the longest covered escalator in the world.

Another interesting area within Central Hong Kong is the Statue Square, prominent for a long line of historical significance. This was where great statues such as the statues of Queen Victoria and Price Albert were placed before World War II. The HSBC Headquarters is located south of this square, at the same site where the old City Hall that had been demolished in 1933 used to be. This building located at 1 Queen’s Road Central took 6 years for completion and consists of 47 storeys of office spaces. The uniqueness of this structure is that sunlight forms the major lighting source for this tower, a beneficial power-saving feature. Apart from that, lightweight panels for flooring makes installation of telecommunications and computer equipment easy.