C&W Opens Trio of Offices in Mainland China

CHENGDU, CHINA-This burgeoning technology hub is one of three Mainland China cities where Cushman & Wakefield has just opened new offices, joining Guangzhou and Shenzhen. The latest additions give New York City-based C&W a presence in seven Chinese markets, and Asia Group CEO Michael Thompson says the operations strengthen the commercial real estate services firm’s coverage of China’s interior.

“It’s a natural progression for us,” Thompson tells GlobeSt.com, explaining that governmental policies favor growth in those markets going forward. Guangzhou and Shenzhen are emerging as major manufacturing centers, he says, whereas Chengdu has enjoyed heavy infrastructure development, good transit networks and economic breaks to encourage private investment. “The appeal for multi-nationals is very strong,” Thompson says of the city, which has 12 million people and an economy poised for new millennium growth. Intel, for example, recently opened a chip-processing plant in Chengdu. The capital city of the Sichuan Province in southwestern China, Chengdu is also regarded as a promising area for life sciences, reflecting a skilled, educated work force.

Approximately 20 people are already working in C&W’s Chengdu office, says Thompson, making it among the largest of its kind in the country. The opening coincides with C&W’s appointment as property manager of Times Plaza, a one-million-sf tower in Chengdu’s Central Business District.