Regus in the right spot for business

Finding the right office to start up your business in Beijing and Shanghai can be a nightmare with sky-high rents.

But with temporary office provider Regus, budding entrepreneurs are finding the right place for the right price.

The world's largest flexible workplace solutions company has 3,000 centers in 900 cities in 120 countries, according to its website.

"Fifteen years ago when Regus entered China, almost all of our clients were multinational firms," Conan Quan, area director of Regus China, told China Daily.

Regus, which is based in Luxembourg, specializes in finding the right offices for not only big clients, but also small ones. Companies can rent them by the day or year and share the facilities.

Business is booming as the company plans to expand further in China by opening new office locations throughout the country.

Without revealing details of the company's expansion plans, Quan said that in 2013 offices opened by Regus China jumped from around 70 to more than 100.

This pace of expansion is already overshadowing other global markets.

China is now the company's fourth-largest market.

"Today we see an increasing number of Chinese firms, whether big or small, as they gradually understand the upsides of this co-working model we offer to the office space market," said Quan.

"Most importantly, companies can expand or shrink the office space whenever they want to change their staffing arrangements," Quan said

The flexibility Regus offers can help cash-strapped startup companies. Song Wei, founder of an export company employing six staff, moved into a fancy Regus office in Pacific Century Place in Beijing. The company's old headquarters was in an old factory in the district of Huairou.

"The move is good for the company's image," said Song. "We want our potential customers to take us as seriously as businesspeople."

As the clear market leader in China, Regus is not afraid of competition, but the sector can be difficult.

"Transitioning from a predominantly fixed to a more flexible mode of work is difficult and despite the significant benefits, it's often a major physical and cultural change for companies," said Quan.