(Yicai Global) July 18 -- Despite the recent return of Covid-19 to Shanghai, demand and rental prices for space in the city’s industrial parks remained buoyant in the first half of the year thanks to the “clustering effect,” an industry insider told Yicai Global.

Businesses rented 142,000 square meters of space in Shanghai’s industrial parks in the six months ended June 30, Yu Zeren, a director at Jones Lang LaSalle's Shanghai commercial real estate department, said at the Shanghai Global Investment Partners event on July 15. In the second quarter, the area rented was only 60,000 sqm due to the impact of Covid-19.

The city’s industrial parks have attracted many high-quality companies, creating a “clustering effect,” Yu noted, with demand from companies in life sciences, integrated circuits, and high-end manufacturing holding up in the first half.

“Following a modest increase in the first three months of the year, rents in industrial parks remained at CNY4.60 (68 US cents) per square meter a day in the second quarter thanks to stable demand,” he added.

Shanghai has 53 special industrial parks covering a total area of 200 million sqm. Last year, they had a combined output value of nearly CNY800 billion (USD118.6 billion) and revenues of CNY184.3 billion.

The 13 that opened this year have 47 million sqm, with seven million sqm of properties available, said Ding Xingyi, deputy director of the Industrial Park Department of Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economic and Informatization. Among the new centers, two focus on the digital economy, two on green and low-carbon development, and another two on the metaverse.

According to Shanghai's recently unveiled industrial plan, more than 60 percent of the city’s gross domestic product will likely come from its digital economy by 2025. Shanghai aims to have a CNY3 trillion (USD446 billion) digital economy in three years by focusing on e-sports, the metaverse, smart cars, and other such sectors, its government said in a document released on July 12.

Editor: Futura Costaglione