Mainland Chinese companies have been moving into premium office areas in Hong Kong’s Central business district, taking over the prime locations left vacant by foreign groups in the wake of the pandemic.

ByteDance, the Chinese owner of social media platform TikTok and one of the country’s most valuable tech start-ups, is taking over about 16,000 sq ft of office space at One International Finance Centre this year from Switzerland-based bank Julius Baer, which is moving to a less central location, according to three people with knowledge of the deal.

An affiliate of state-owned China National Petroleum Corporation is set to move into a nearly 14,000 sq ft office in the Central business district, two sources said, after its previous tenant, flexible workspace provider Regus, owned by Switzerland-based IWG, closed its centre there.