Bengaluru, Gurugram among top 5 locations in APAC for tech firms: Report

The study has ranked 15 cities of Asia Pacific in three categories based on their performance with regard to business conditions, innovation environment, and cost and availability.

Bengaluru and Gurugram are among the top 5 preferred destinations in Asia Pacific to set up offices by technology companies because of better business conditions as well as availability of engineers and real estate for growth, according to a report.

The report by property consultant CBRE said technology companies continue to fuel office demand in the APAC region, despite absence of any principal city or cluster of the same status as Silicon Valley. Technology sector accounted for 23 per cent of total leasing activity in 2018.

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The study has ranked 15 cities of Asia Pacific in three categories based on their performance with regard to business conditions, innovation environment, and cost and availability.

Business conditions and innovation environment were each given a weightage of 40 per cent while cost, a relatively less important consideration for tech firms, was given 20 per cent weightage.

"Leading cities are Beijing, Bengaluru, Shanghai, Singapore and Gurugram. These cities score highly in terms of business conditions and innovation environment, as well as providing costs and availability that are supportive for business growth," the report said.

These cities are preferred destinations for a wide range of traditional and new tech companies seeking to establish a base of operations in Asia Pacific.

Hyderabad figures in the list of five competent cities along with Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Tokyo and Seoul. These cities already host tech industry sub-sectors and demonstrate solid performance across most categories.

Five 'supplement cities' are Hong Kong, Hsinchu, Sydney, Taipei and Auckland. These cities rate favourably on certain important aspects, but their most appropriate role is to serve as host for specific functions to complement larger hubs elsewhere in the region.

"India is home to an increasing number of tech unicorns and Asia Pacific is increasingly defined as the region leading in the rapid adoption of disruptive technology.

"However, there is still room for growth in terms of identifying locations where business conditions, innovation and talent come together to form a globally competitive digital hub," said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO, of CBRE India.

Magazine, who also heads South East Asia, Middle East and Africa business, said improved access to incubator and accelerator programmes and a vast pool of skilled IT talent based in Delhi-NCR and Bengaluru have supported the cultivation of new ideas.

Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi among world's cheapest cities to live in: Report |

Paris, Singapore, Hong Kong are the costliest ones.

Move over Singapore — the world's most expensive city has two new rivals.

After topping the Economist Intelligence Unit's Worldwide Cost of Living Survey for five years, Asia's Lion City has been joined by Paris and Hong Kong in a tie at the top of the table.

Zurich and Geneva rounded out the top five, while New York and Los Angeles reclaimed spots in the top 10 — ranking in seventh and 10th respectively — after slipping to 13th and 14th last year thanks to a weakening dollar.

The survey is designed to help companies calculate cost-of-living allowances and build compensation packages for expatriates and business travelers.

The trio of cities sharing the top spot are 7 per cent more expensive to live in than New York, according to the EIU, which compiles its list from a survey of 160 products and services across 93 countries.

The Japanese port city of Osaka was another re-entry, moving up six spots to number five. Seoul (joint seventh place), Copenhagen (also seventh) and Tel Aviv (10th) round out the top 10 — which actually consists of 11 cities thanks to tied places.

"Weaker local currencies have pushed all five Australian and two New Zealand cities surveyed down in the ranking," the EIU said, accounting for Sydney's absence after it scraped into 10th position in last year's report.

Outside the top 10, the EIU said the cost of living in Chinese cities remains relatively stable, while Southeast Asian destinations were moving up the ranks.

One of the factors behind Asia's strong showing at the top of the table is that some Asian cities are among the world's priciest locations for general grocery shopping, according to the EIU.

But while parts of Asia remain the most expensive places on Earth, the continent also makes several appearances at the bottom of the list.

"Within Asia, the best value for money has traditionally been offered by South Asian cities, particularly those in India and Pakistan," the EIU said. "To an extent this remains true, and Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi and Karachi feature among the 10 cheapest locations surveyed."

Business Standard