Hong Kong’s red-hot property market — one of the world’s most expensive for prime office space — is starting to buckle under the strain of China’s economic slowdown and global trade ructions, led by lower demand from mainland Chinese companies.

After spending much of the past decade ramping up their presence, many mainland entities are rethinking their expansion plans in the city, leading to weaker office rents and prices, property agents said.

Data from commercial real estate agent Colliers released last week show that gross take-up, or new leases, to mainland Chinese companies fell almost 40 per cent in the first half of 2019, compared with the same period last year. Average office rents in the city are likely to fall in 2019 for the first time in six years as a result, by 1.3 per cent, and strata-sale office prices by 5 per cent, Colliers said.