Most affordable office spaces in South Asia

Surabaya, Indonesia has topped the list for the most affordable office space, followed by Hyderabad, India and Chongqing, China.

It would cost companies US$1,610 (S$1,988) per workstation per annum in Surabaya, US$2,280 (S$2,816) in Hyderabad and US$2,300 (S$2,841) in Chongqing.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ranked 29^th at US$4,290 (S$5,299), with Singapore and Hong Kong not making the top 50 list.

The report noted global occupancy costs are projected to rise by an average of 2.3% over the next two years in the APAC region, with the highest growth in north and south Asia.

Regionally, Jakarta (11.9%) and Beijing (10.7%) are set to see the strongest cost increase over the next two years, while Singapore saw the biggest decrease in cost (4.4%) in South Asia over the past year. Occupancy cost is also expected to drop in the city state by 0.7% over the next two years.

“However, it should be noted that island-wide vacancy rates in Singapore are currently at their lowest level since 2008, and we expect costs to rise steadily in the long term,” the report said.