DELHI AND MUMBAI AMONG COSTLIEST ASIAN CBD SITES
Two Indian cities — Mumbai and Delhi — have emerged amongst the top 10 most expensive Asian CBD (central business district) office locations. In the Asia-Pacific region, Mumbai and Delhi rank fourth and eighth, respectively, according to a survey conducted by global property advisor DTZ Debenham Tie Leung. The CBD occupancy costs in Mumbai and Delhi are $11,400 and $8,150 per annum per workstation.
London (West End), Hong Kong and Paris occupy the top three positions globally. Mumbai has jumped nine places to emerge at the No. 18 slot this year (up from No. 27 in 2006) while Delhi has moved up five places to bag the No. 51 slot (No. 56) by virtue of the booming Indian real estate market and lack of new and quality office space. Other Indian cities featuring on the global list are Bangalore (No. 117) and Chennai (No. 123).
Large IT/ ITeS occupiers and BPO firms seeking consolidation of various smaller offices and built-to-suit facilities have driven the high growth in commercial office space absorption volumes and costs in suburban and peripheral areas. As regards CBD occupancy cost trends, Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi CBDs have experienced some of the largest increases in occupancy costs in the Asia Pacific region in the 2007 survey with y-o-y growth of 37 percent, 34 percent and 23 percent respectively.
The professional, financial and IT/telecommunications sectors continued to dominate take-up in most countries. In 2006, markets such as Hong Kong, London, New York and Tokyo continued to lead the global office market with high occupancy costs