by LYDIA NATHAN/ pic by MUHD AMIN NAHARUL
CO-WORKING space WeWork has registered 15% growth in Malaysia from March to July this year despite the Covid-19 outbreak.
The platform said in a statement that the enterprise segment was a strong driver for its growth, evident by more than 20% growth in members across South-East Asia.
“WeWork Malaysia also tracked more than 30% growth in its enterprise members, while 53% of similar companies plan to do the same in the next one to three years. This growth was seen across sectors such as oil and gas (O&G), financial services, marketing and advertising, as well as government and technology,” it said.
These companies included Petronas Gas + New Energy, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, StashAway, Panduit, Respond.io and Trapo.
According to Wework, more companies have been evaluating workspaces and commitments to rentals as Malaysia is in the Recovery Movement Control Order.
“More are leaning towards co-working spaces in favour of more flexible, cost-efficient and scalable solutions as companies look to recover and advance from the pandemic’s impact,” WeWork Malaysia said.
According to a recent report published by International Data Corp (IDC), the Future of Work: Coworking for Enterprises (A South-East Asian Perspective), companies are positively embracing ways to participate in work environments that can facilitate collaboration, cross-learning opportunities and future-proof their operations.
“The report found that 93% of global enterprises have recognised the need to adapt their workspaces to align with the younger generation’s expectations, emphasising that co-working spaces have evolved beyond conventional norms for startups and individual entrepreneurs alone,” IDC said.
It also predicted that by 2021, 60% of the Global 2000 Companies would have adopted a future-workspace type model, which promotes flexibility and collaboration.
Kuala Lumpur was one of the six cities surveyed for the report, and it showed that a vibrant start-up and entrepreneurial culture and strong government support are among the drivers of the co-working model in Malaysia.
“The current climate has also shown the importance for businesses to be prepared with scalable and flexible space solutions to address their operational and regulatory needs promptly. These will be strong indicators for more companies to integrate co-working spaces for achieving greater operational efficiency,” it said.
WeWork head of growth for South-East Asia and Korea Ray Tan said the pandemic highlighted a greater emphasis on how to address the new workspace reality.
“We are seeing companies recalibrating their traditional real estate portfolio based on their operational needs and this is where we can empower them with hybrid flexible workspace arrangements from a hub-and-spoke model to a phased workforce approach,” he said.
Tan added that the platform would remain committed as a workspace partner in tackling potential opportunities and challenges ahead.
WeWork’s second location, WeWork Mercu 2, has seen rapid growth since its opening at the end of 2019, while the WeWork Equatorial Plaza location continues to be a key support for companies in essential sectors such as O&G, financial services and more with the ability to connect with WeWork’s community ecosystem.
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