Real estate investor BentallGreenOak is wagering billions of dollars that Japanese workers will return to the office after the pandemic.
The Canadian insurer’s real estate arm plans to double staff and invest $10 billion (about ¥1.03 trillion) in Japan over the next two to three years, of which as much as 70% may go into office buildings in the country’s major business districts, said Sonny Kalsi, chief executive officer of BentallGreenOak.
"We don’t think that work from home is going to be a big long-term trend in Asia overall and in Japan specifically,” Kalsi said in an interview. "That’s part of the reason we are bullish on Japanese offices — more so than any other market.”