One of the reasons for the lack of earnings, many believe, is that the cost of real estate rent and hiring staff is inordinately high, while the amount of new money being attracted has not yet reached a momentum.

But when it comes to running a building itself, a new study from US-based Whitstone has shown that Asia is one of the cheapest places, with six out of ten of the least expensive cities for building management, in the Asian region.

Switzerland meanwhile, takes the crown for the priciest place to manage an office, followed by Tokyo.

The annual study revealed what it costs to run the same building in 168 cities around the world, ranking building expenses (not including rent) for the world's major office building markets. Highest costs for a typical office building are US$22.61 per square foot in Zurich, while lowest costs are US$2.54 in Minsk.

Here is the ranking in full.

Most Expensive
Rank    City    Total
1    Zurich, Switzerland    $22.61
2    Geneva, Switzerland    $22.05
3    Tokyo, Japan    $18.99
4    Honolulu, United States    $18.01
5    Osaka, Japan    $17.71
6    Vienna, Austria    $16.64
7    Sydney, Australia    $16.55
8    Fukuoka, Japan    $15.77
9    New York, United States    $15.73
10    Copenhagen, Denmark    $15.33

Least Expensive    
Rank    City    Total    
159    Bangalore, India    $3.50    
160    Buenos Aires, Argentina    $3.38    
161    Kiev, Ukraine    $3.18    
162    Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam    $3.16    
163    Hanoi, Vietnam    $3.13    
164    Chennai, India    $2.88    
165    Kolkata, India    $2.81    
166    Hyderabad, India    $2.81    
167    Kabul, Afghanistan    $2.57    
168    Minsk, Belarus    $2.54    

Reported costs are for a model two story office building. All costs are reported in $US dollar using May 30, 2012 exchange rates. Cost data is for 74 building types and 11 types of expenses, including custodial services, energy, grounds, maintenance and repair, management, pest control, refuse, road clearance, telecommunications, and water and sewer.