Regus, the world's largest provider of flexible workspace, has opened its seventh business centre in Kuala Lumpur to cater for the growing demand in the market.

Chief Financial Officer (Asia Pacific) John Henderson said the trend for flexible workspace was increasing in Malaysia on the back of the country's sustainable economy coupled with the uptrend of mobile workers worldwide.

The financial flexibility and low capital outlay of using Regus workspace was particularly attractive to small-and-medium enterprises in Malaysia, given that finance was one of the main challenges facing entrepreneurs here.

"Flexible workspace in Malaysia is staring to pick up. We get a lot of inquiry for our products and our brand presence in the market is increasing.

"What we are trying to do is to provide a product that meets everybody's budget. We (Regus) have invested in the market since 1999 and we are very confident of this market that we want to be in...a strong market with good business environment," he told a press conference on Regus' new workspace.

The new centre offers affordable access to an enviable business address close to the Petronas Twin Towers and the KL Convention Centre.

On client ratio, Henderson said 60 per cent of Regus' client in Malaysia were foreign companies and the remainder were local firms.

With the opening of Regus' latest centre together with another soon-to-be-opened outlet in the city, he expected the take up rate among local companies to increase.

The company planned to open up its first centre outside Kuala Lumpur in the near-term under its three-year expansion plan in the country.

"We are evaluating several sites outside Kuala Lumpur to expand our network nationwide as our previous centres were very much centred in the city.

"We have a positive view of the market potential," he said without elaborating.

Updating on Regus' bid for a '3rd place' project in Singapore, Henderson was optimistic the company would win the bid in anticipation of its strong brand and leading position in the industry, broad network and capability.

'3rd place' is a centre for all businessmen to conduct their business away from their normal office.