For the fourth consecutive year, Singapore has been ranked the world’s most expensive city for expatriates to live in, in a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
The Worldwide Cost of Living 2017 report listed five Asian cities in its top six, including Hong Kong, Tokyo, Osaka and Seoul. The exception was Switzerland’s Zurich, which was ranked third.
Geneva, Paris, New York and Copenhagen completed the top 10.
The report is meant to help companies calculate relocation costs for expatriate staff, and compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services.
These include food, drink, clothing, household supplies and personal care items, home rents, transport, utility bills, private schools, domestic help and recreational costs.
The 2017 survey found that Singapore is still the most expensive city to buy and maintain a car, and the second-priciest destination to buy clothes.
In terms of food and drink, the cost of living in Singapore is on a par with Shanghai, while Seoul, Tokyo and Osaka are the three most expensive places in the world to buy staple goods, the EIU said, adding that in Seoul, topping up a grocery basket is almost 50 per cent more expensive than in New York.
The South Korean capital, which was ranked as low as 50th just seven years ago, now occupies sixth place, the report noted.
Source : Channel NewsAsia – 21 Mar 2017