China Uses PropTech to Make Offices More Efficient

Property technology has become extremely popular in China. About three-fourth of Global Investment in property technology also regarded as ‘PropTech’, has taken place in China since 2013. Investment in PropTech records at an impressive US$20 billion over the past seven years with more than 75% of the investment going into China.

PropTech focuses on the revamping of offices and shopping malls with a major focus on the development, occupation, and management of these buildings.  Chinese venture capitalists are taking an increased interest in PropTech, putting China in the forefront. The potential of PropTech in China is massive. The unflinching support of the Chinese Government couple with the tech-savviness of the country, there’s a horizon of opportunities for PropTech in China.

The global real estate giant, JLL, offers services related to commercial properties alongside investment manager to a vast variety of clients including multinationals, real estate owners, etc. JLL is also making a significant investment in a bunch of start-ups. In 2018, it launched a fund based on investment in PropTech companies worldwide. This fund raised US$100 billion. JLL properties alone have managed to collect 135 billion data points.

“Wireless sensors have been positioned in offices for the collection of data,” says the CEO of JLL Asia-Pacific. Twenty thousand sensors have been incorporated into more than twenty projects to monitor office usage and efficiency. China is two steps ahead of the world in terms of technology. It has all the advancements of the latest technologies like artificial intelligence and blockchain.

These technologies have assisted in storing, processing and analyzing data in order to improve upon management efficiency. Although real estate is still running using technology helps get more information out from the same properties and buildings. It has become very convenient for monitoring the occupancy rate and real-time energy consumption. It has especially become easier for landlords to monitor and solve technical issues such as absurd temperatures or uncontrolled power consumption. Tenants also have a lot of advantages to gain from information on the optimization of building space.

Another Chinese start-up has also incorporated data sensors into furniture pieces to provide information to companies about the safety of employees. For instance, these sensors inform employees if they’ve been in the same position for a long time. Both companies and employees stand to gain a lot from this if it’s implemented throughout China. This information can assist organizations in revamping their office layout to utilize space efficiently.