The Asia Pacific region saw office occupancy cost increase 1.7 percent in Q1 2018 from 1.2 percent over the same period last year, reported Singapore Business Review citing latest research from CBRE.Globally, the office occupancy cost rose 2.4 percent year-on-year.For the second year in a row, Central Hong Kong emerged as the world’s most expensive office location, with prime office space costing US$306.57 psf per annum, while Kowloon remained as the fourth priciest office destination.Aside from banking and finance firms from Mainland China that primarily drove demand within the area, flexible-space operators were also active in Hong Kong’s overall market.Beijing jumped from sixth to third place, with prime office rates at US$189.44 psf per annum. Amidst space demand from technology, flexible space operators and finance, CBRE expects international demand to increase due to ongoing Chinese financial reforms.With new supplies pushing more vacancies, Marunouchi and Otemachi offices in Tokyo slid one spot to take eighth place as office prices stood at US$171.41 psf per annum. This was followed by Connaught Place in New Delhi’s central business district, with the office occupancy cost at US$153.26 psf per annum.“The dominant trend among the top-20 markets with rising prime occupancy costs is strong demand from the finance, technology, and e-commerce sectors,” said CBRE.Other Asia Pacific prime office spaces that made it to the top 50 list include those from Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney, Mumbai, Shenzhen, Ho Chi Minh City and Taipei.Source: CommercialGuru, 25 June 2018