Hong Kong is the city with the world’s highest rent for a premium office, followed by London, then New York, according to JLL’s latest Global Premium Office Rent Tracker.

Hong Kong takes a significant lead in terms of occupancy costs compared with the two other global cities. The price of premium office space — defined as those in Class A buildings with excellent facilities — in Hong Kong’s Central district is more than 50% higher than London’s and New York’s. It costs US$302 psf a year to rent space in a top notch building in Hong Kong; in London’s West End, it costs US$197 psf; and in Midtown New York, US$194 psf.

This is also a new high for Hong Kong; it was US$262 a year ago. Prices were pushed up by strong demand and shortage of stock as companies from mainland China look to have a base in Hong Kong.

Both Beijing and Shanghai fell a place to fourth and sixth position respectively. Tokyo leapfrogged past Shanghai to take fifth spot, propelled by high leasing activity and big-ticket pre-commitments, while New York has seen premium rents rise more than 10%.