Colliers, the world leading property knowledge solutions provider, sees speed as the key for its development in China.

"China is a rather dynamic market, much more dynamic than any other market around the world," said James Horne, president of Colliers International Property Consultants, during an interview with China Daily yesterday in Beijing.

"We may spend months making decisions in other markets, but we're in a race in China."

The country's rapid economic expansion has brought with it new construction, a booming retail sector, and spiking demand.

This potential has lured property prospectors eager to cash in on the bullish market.

In response, Colliers has adopted a firm handed and swift strategy for the mainland, far different from its cautious business approach in other markets.

"It's totally new ground, something that has never been seen before, so we cannot adopt a routine strategy," said the president.

Horne believes, compared with its competitors in China, that Colliers boasts unique advantages.

In as early as 1992 the company set up its first joint venture in China in Beijing, which made it the first foreign-funded professional real estate consultancy in the nation.

It has since established long-term and sound relationships with a number of world's leading multinationals and institutions, including P&G, Johnson & Johnson, 3M and the World Bank.

It has also carried out significant studies on the local market and become familiar with its operational model.

"Colliers was among the first commercial real estate companies to recognize the importance of local knowledge on a global scale," said Horne.

"This pioneering tradition of global breadth and local depth of knowledge and expertise continues in China today and sums up Colliers' unique approach to the business of commercial real estate."

In the firm's domestic branches, the localization of human resources has been encouraged, ranging from managerial staff to research professionals.

Engaged in providing consulting services for office and commercial property seekers and helping real estate developers make their projects a reality, Colliers formulates its own criterion for each contract, in which scale and quality are highlighted.

"As for the project scale, the bigger, the better," said Horne, adding that the quality of engineering is paramount, given that Colliers' targeted clients are all large multinationals.

Last month, Colliers International successfully arranged an office sales transaction between Australia-based Lend Lease Global Properties and Singapore CapitaLand at Shanghai Xin Mao Plaza, located opposite Xintiandi in the heart of the municipality.

At US$98 million, the deal was the largest single transaction for an en-bloc sale in Shanghai's Grade A office market in terms of size, value and nature of the sale.

Colliers currently has three offices in China in Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou.

It is the No 1 foreign-funded commercial re-leasing company in the country, while worldwide the firm boasts 8,800 employees in 247 offices in 50 countries.

Source: China Daily