Hong Kong’s West Kowloon is poised to emerge as the second-most important office sub-market after Central with the completion of new buildings that will accommodate banks and insurance companies, according to industry officials.

However, there was expected to be limited demand from newcomers or via corporate expansion, with leasing activity dominated by relocations and higher vacancy rates in some of the city’s other business districts.

The 40-hectare stretch of reclaimed land is being touted as ‘Central 2.0’ with the likes of Swiss bank UBS, US-based investment bank JPMorgan Chase and Spain’s Banco Santander leasing spaces from Sun Hung Kai Properties (SHKP) in the district that was originally envisioned to be the city’s premier arts and culture hub.

UBS will be the anchor tenant of UBS Tower at the International Gateway Centre (IGC), a 14-storey, 460,000 sq ft grade A office building by SHKPlocated above the West Kowloon high-speed terminus rail station. IGC is SHKP’s new flagship commercial development, consisting of two towers and four prime office blocks totalling about 2.6 million sq ft.

UBS plans to begin moving into the building from the fourth quarter, bringing together staff currently spread across five offices, including Two IFC and One Peking Road.

“West Kowloon is Hong Kong’s future-focused international business district,” said Lo King-wai, executive director at Sun Hung Kai Real Estate Agency. “It is rapidly emerging as ‘Central 2.0’ and a dynamic hub for commerce, arts, culture, sustainability and retail.”