Guangzhou expo shows property services

Property service businesses in Guangzhou, Guangdong province, have maintained positive growth over the last three years throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, according to an industry report.

The total revenue of the city's property service sector increased from 19.4 billion yuan ($2.78 billion) in 2019 to 28.9 billion yuan in 2021, with a compound annual growth rate of 22.1 percent, according to the 2022 Guangzhou Property Management Industry Development Research Report.

It was released during the three-day Guangzhou International Smart Property Management Expo, which opened on Sunday.

Inaugurated by the Guangzhou Property Management Association and the first large exhibition to be held in the city since the adjustment of COVID prevention and control measures, the expo attracted hundreds of property management companies from 24 provinces and cities, which came to showcase their property management services.

The total profit of the city's property enterprises also rose from 970 million yuan in 2019 to 1.65 billion yuan in 2021, an indication of the city's business performance, and high-quality, low-price property management services, according to the report.

The number of employees in the sector has increased by nearly 50,000 over the past five years, totaling 218,500 last year.

Under the theme of "enabling a better life through science and technology", the expo includes a 20,000-square-meter exhibition area featuring displays of smart technology, reconstructions of old residential compounds, robotic services, clean and green gardening and diversified business operations in residential communities.

"Over the past three years, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected our business, especially in terms of property sales, which is one of our key business growth engines," said Ouyang Xiaoqing, a manager with Hong Kong-listed company Fineland Living Services.

However, the company maintained growth in property management services, which was less affected by the pandemic, according to Ouyang.

"We have introduced a range of updated technology including big data, robotics and remote surveillance facilities to property management, which helped greatly increase efficiency and reduce costs," she said.

Inside the exhibition halls, several high-tech and intelligent facilities including robots for cleaning tall building walls, disinfection and indoor air sampling were on display.

Among them was a 1.4-meter-tall, 1-meter-wide robot developed by Lingdu (Guangdong) Intelligent Technology Development Co, a company specializing in the development of high-altitude curtain wall cleaning robots, which is able to automatically climb the walls of high buildings.

It is more than three times more efficient than manual cleaners, and does not need external water or gas pipes or power supplies, according to the company.

The robot has cleaned glass walls on more than 120 tall buildings nationwide, including the iconic eastern and western towers in Guangzhou.