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PDD是最新一家收购办公大楼的中国科技巨头 2026-07-13
Chinese technology companies are increasingly becoming major buyers of commercial real estate, with PDD Holdings the latest example. The Chinese owner of discount shopping sites Temu and Pinduoduo has acquired DBS Bank Tower in central Shanghai.
The tower was not publicly listed for sale, making it more akin to an off-market deal, a source at a real estate fund told Yicai. Many office buildings along the Lujiazui waterfront area, where the tower is located, were put up for sale in recent years, with prices well down on previous years, the person said. Buyers willing to make full upfront payment can often negotiate an extra discount, they added.
DBS Bank Tower is a Grade-A office building with a gross floor area of about 46,000 square meters. The property consists of 19 above-ground floors and three basement levels. Completed in 2009, it has long housed DBS Bank as a major tenant, with the Singaporean lender securing naming rights after signing long-term leases for part of the building.
Until recently, Beijing-based PDD mainly relied on leased office premises, with its Shanghai workforce spread across multiple buildings, including Jinhongqiao International Center, Yifeng Center, Jingyao Hongqiao, and others. It bought an office building in Hebei province's Xiongan New Area last month.
In addition to PDD, TikTok-owner ByteDance has built out headquarters campuses and research and development bases across major cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hangzhou, while JD.Com has opened HQs, logistics parks, and R&D facilities in Beijing, Suqian, Hangzhou, Nanjing, and other cities. Artificial intelligence startups Zhipu AI and Moonshot AI are also hunting for long-term HQs.
Prices for bulk office property transactions have broadly corrected in recent years, while tech firms are generally flush with cash, analysts at a multinational property services firm said to Yicai. Acquiring HQs amid the market downturn locks in long-term office expenses and opens opportunities to benefit from future asset appreciation, they noted.
“Now is an attractive moment to purchase Grade-A office assets in core cities such as Shanghai," an analyst pointed out. PDD had cash reserves of CNY422.3 billion (USD58.5 billion) at the end of last year, with its multi-billion-yuan acquisition of core Shanghai office premises catering to future workspace needs and forming part of its long-term asset allocation strategy, the person said.
By owning real estate, companies can shield themselves from future rent increases while expanding their fixed-asset base and strengthening the overall quality of their balance sheets, according to the real estate fund insider.
Internet and AI firms have stepped up hiring for roles in real estate and campus asset management in recent years, reflecting a growing emphasis on managing owned property portfolios rather than relying exclusively on leased facilities, the person said.
“AI companies need office spaces that can house computing infrastructure and data centers,” the person said. “This drives these emerging enterprises to favor building their own headquarters campuses over leasing scattered office spaces.”
In addition, local governments seeking to attract tech HQ projects are providing support through land policies and industrial incentives, reducing the costs for technology firms to develop and own their own office assets, the person added.
Source: Yicai Global
