World-leading property services and money management firm Jones Lang LaSalle is to open another five or six offices on the mainland in the next two years, and make China the base for more staff than any other Asian country within five years.

The firm opened an office in Shanghai in 1994, followed by Beijing in 1996 and Guangzhou in 2004. So far 2,500 members of staff are based on the mainland.

Peter Barge, CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle Asia Pacific, told China Daily on Sunday the domestic market is still developing, and it is hard to predict how positive its future will be.

"Development of the nation's property market is speeding up and the market is turning mature," said Barge, adding that new projects are launched and fresh investors make plays every day, which speeds up the pace of businesses providing property solutions.

The consulting firm's most urgent task is to recruit more qualified talent. Jones Lang LaSalle has partnered institutions such as Tsinghua University to establish specific training programmes to attract top quality graduates.

The giant property advisor is devoted to channelling its global clients, including Microsoft and SUN Microsystems, to the mainland, introducing indirect investment to the nation's property market, according to David Hand, the managing director based in Beijing.

He cited United States-based United Technologies Corporation, which is running more than 400 projects involving factories, offices, research and development facilities, and lifts for residential and office buildings on the mainland, with "huge" investment.

"Grand names seek for association with a strong advisor, while Jones Lang LaSalle, with over 220 years of history and business across 100 markets globally, can provide confidence for them," said Hand.

Barge indicated that co-operation with domestic companies has also become very important for Jones Lang LaSalle.

"They (the domestic property firms and investment institutes) have accumulated experiences and they like the idea of joining hands with international corporations to learn from their international managements skills and share the local resources with them," said CEO Barge, adding that such a co-operation model benefits both sides.

Beijing Logistics Port, the largest logistics park in Beijing developed by Beijing BHL Logistic Ltd, was built with the help of Jones Lang LaSalle.

The experienced property management conglomerate has been chosen by GuoAo Investment and Development Co Ltd, legal person of the Beijing Olympic Village, to be the one-stop consulting service provider for the Olympic Village of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, from the preparation and designing stage to post-Games sales.

(China Daily June 28, 2005)