Worldwide, Singapore rose from the 68th to the 36th spot in one year, becoming more expensive for international assignees than places like Hong Kong, New York, Amsterdam, Frankfurt and Shanghai.

The company, which provides solutions for firms sending their staff overseas, said the prices of goods and services commonly purchased by international assignees have risen at much faster rates in Singapore than in other developed locations in the region.

Such goods and services now cost almost 3 per cent more in Singapore than in Hong Kong. Just a year ago, they cost 5 per cent more in Hong Kong than here.

The strong Singapore dollar – which has risen more than 10-per-cent against the greenback in a year – is a double-edged sword, said Mr Lee Quane, regional director Asia of ECA International.

While it means companies sending staff out of Singapore pay a lower cost of living allowances for an employee to maintain their standard of living, the reverse is the case for companies bringing staff into Singapore.

Meanwhile, Tokyo remains the most expensive city for international assignees.

Also making the top 10 in the region are the Korean cities of Seoul and Busan, as well as Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai.

Source : Today – 9 Jun 2011

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A survey by human resource consultancy ECA International showed that Singapore now has the ninth highest cost of living in the region.

Last year, the city-state was in the twelfth place.

ECA International said the cost of living for visitors to Singapore is also catching up with that of its neighbours.

A year ago, living costs in Singapore were about 15 per cent lower than in Hong Kong. Now, the difference is just seven per cent.

ECA International’s Regional Director for Asia, Lee Quane, said the increase in living cost is unlikely to deter firms from relocating their staff here.

Tokyo maintained its position as the most expensive location for expatriates to live in, as the stronger yen outweighed the impact of deflation in Japan.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 2 Dec 2009

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A report by human resources consultancy, ECA International, found that Singapore is the 10th most expensive city in Asia and 72nd worldwide.

The firm said price rises have not slowed down as much in Singapore as in other parts of Asia in spite of its weakened currency.

In addition, currencies of locations which were previously more expensive than Singapore – like London and Stockholm – have depreciated at a faster rate than the Singapore dollar.

This has led to Singapore becoming more expensive for visitors than many other locations in the survey.

Topping the list for the most expensive city in Asia is Japan’s Tokyo, while Angola’s Luanda is the most expensive city in the world.

In all, four Japanese cities, Tokyo, Nagoya, Yokohama and Kobe, made it to the top five most expensive places globally.

ECA International said the cost of living in Asia has become more expensive as Europe and the US are bearing the brunt of the recession.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 10 Jun 2009

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WITH inflation and fluctuating exchange rates, Singapore has leapt 27 places up the global rankings of the world’s most expensive cities to live in. The consolation for the Republic is, its regional rivals have seen costs balloon far more astronomically.

Even as it jumped up to 95th place worldwide, Singapore’s Asian ranking rose just one notch up to 12th place – with consumer goods here about 15 per cent cheaper than in Hong Kong, according to findings by human resources firm ECA International.

These goods, which include food items and services, are also 68 per cent cheaper here than in Tokyo, while Beijing is now three times more expensive than Singapore, compared to last year.

Will all this make Singapore a more attractive option for expatriates and international companies setting up base here?

ECA International Asia general manager Lee Quane said that Singapore thought so. “Companies here will have to pay a higher cost of living allowance to keep pace with rising costs, but they would have to pay an even higher allowance elsewhere in Asia,” he said.

In the coming months, Mr Quane expects inflation here to hold steady, and the Singapore dollar value to depreciate as the US dollar strengthens. “I don’t see cost of living becoming more expensive here, but it won’t become cheaper either,” he said.

Singapore International Chamber of Commerce chief executive Phillip Overmyer said multinational companies were now “trying to understand what would happen after the economic crisis”, and how to serve emerging markets after the turmoil dies down.

“With the lower cost of living in Singapore, it will encourage companies to put its analysts here, such as market researchers and R&D personnel,” he said. “It would support companies to use Singapore as regional headquarters for Asia.”

This could take six to eight months to happen, as companies would need to assess their financial position before focussing on Asia’s domestic market. For now, rising costs would spell bad news for expats as companies are reportedly giving out less generous remuneration packages.

The Singapore expat community, said Mr Overmyer, is different than it was ten years ago, when the expats held top positions in companies.

“Increasingly, the expats tend to be here for the learning experience and in mid-level positions with less generous packages,” he said. This group would now be “struggling a little more”, he added. “But if Singapore remains relatively less expensive, we would still be more attractive.”

ECA’s ranking was compiled using surveys done in March and September and using November exchange rates, over 370 territories.

MOST EXPENSIVE IN ASIA

1. Tokyo (global rank: 2)

5. Beijing (31)

6. Hong Kong (33)

8. Taipei (76)

11. Seoul (90)

12. Singapore (95)

Source : Today – 5 Dec 2008

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The country jumped 27 places, and is one of Asia’s biggest movers.

Hong Kong was ranked 6th, while Tokyo took the top spot.

For the first time, Beijing overtook Hong Kong as the most expensive Chinese city.

The survey noted that the cost of living for Asian cities such as Beijing, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taipei has gone up in the past year due to fluctuating currency and inflation rates.

Cities all over the world are reeling from exchange rate fluctuations brought on by the economic crisis.

This in turn has a big impact on the average costs of living for expatriates.

Living costs in Hong Kong are now approximately 15 per cent higher than in Singapore, an increase from 12 per cent last year.

According to ECA International, the last two months have seen goods and services in Hong Kong swing from being 10 per cent cheaper than in London to being almost 10 per cent more expensive.

Beijing is now three times more expensive than Singapore compared to last year, while cost of living for foreigners visiting Korea and Singapore is now almost on par.

One of the wildest swings is in Japan.

Goods and services in Japan are now 68 per cent more expensive than in Singapore.

This is up from 43 per cent in September last year.

The unravelling of the carry trade resulting in the strengthening of the Japanese yen is mostly to blame for this.

In contrast, Islamabad is the cheapest location in Asia.

Goods and services there are 70 per cent cheaper than in Japan.

In Europe, Moscow is the most expensive location, replacing Oslo.

The weakening of the pound has seen central London off the list of the world’s top ten most expensive cities.

ECA’s survey is carried out twice a year and compares a basket of 125 consumer goods and services commonly purchased by expatriates in over 370 locations worldwide.

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 4 Dec 2008

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ECONOMISTS rubbed their eyes in disbelief yesterday as official data showed that for the third month in a row, inflation held firmly at 7.5 per cent last month instead of climbing.

Does this spell a plateau in consumer prices, which are currently at a 26-year high? Maybe not, said some pundits, as June enjoyed some once-off relief and certain wildcards – oil and food – remain.

According to the Department of Statistics, the consumer price index (CPI) last month rose 7.5 per cent from a year ago, exactly the same as it has since April and slower than market expectations of 8 per cent.

“I had to double check to make sure my eyes not were lying when I saw the headline number,” said CIMB-GK economist Song Seng Wun.

Cheaper cars helped offset higher prices for food and electricity. But there were other exceptional factors: A one-time rebate for service and conservancy charges and the Great Singapore Sale.

As a result, June’s CPI – which measures price changes in a basket of goods and services commonly used by households – fell 0.3 per cent from May.

Data for the following months are likely to look similarly heartening – largely due to a technicalfactor related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

When the GST went up by 2 percentage points from July 2007, prices were logically higher compared to the previous year when there was no such hike. This month, however, the so-called GST effect will wear off and possibly push down CPI by 1 to 1.5 percentage points, estimated HSBC economist Robert Prior-Wandesforde.

Further dampening the inflation rate for the month would be the recent drop in pump prices. Over the past fortnight, petrol stations have cut prices three times in line with falls in crude oil prices. If such cuts continue, consumers will have reason to cheer.

Inflation for the first half of this year is 7.1 per cent, which the Government expects to ease in coming months to reach a full-year figure of between5 and 6 per cent.

But private-sector economists are less optimistic, cautioning instead, of persistent risks.

“We see elevated food and energy prices keeping CPI inflation at 26-year highs,” said Mr Song, who predicts full-year CPI to reach 6 per cent. Crude oil prices are known to be volatile, while global food supplies are at the mercy of the weather.

Singapore buys two-thirds of its food imports from Malaysia, whose recent fuel price hike of as much as 40 per cent will indirectly raise food prices.

Also, consumers are likely to pay more for transport, said United Overseas Bank economist Ng Shing Yi, as more Electronic Road Pricing gantries become operational, and with taxi, bus and train operators set to raise fares.

Which means that even though July’s inflation rate is expected to slow, due partly to the fading of the GST effect, don’t be too hasty to conclude that the downtrend will continue.

In fact, “what the average man on the street wants to see is prices coming down. That means the inflation figure has to be negative”, said National University of Singapore’s Associate Professor of Economics Tilak Abeysinghe.

Source : Today – 24 Jul 2008

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Singapore’s rise in rankings is partly due to the appreciation of the Singapore dollar against the US dollar.

Other contributing factors include its high quality of living and continued strength as a regional hub.

Tokyo is the costliest Asian city, followed by Seoul, Hong Kong and Osaka.

In world standings, Singapore is in 13th position, one notch higher than in 2007.

Moscow was ranked the most expensive city both in Europe and globally for the third year running.

Mercer’s survey covered 143 countries across six continents. – CNA/de

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 23 Jul 2008

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The latest Cost of Living survey by consultancy firm ECA International shows that Singapore has leapt 17 places in ranking this year.

The city-state is now ranked 13, trailing behind cities such as Beijing, Taipei and Shanghai.

Higher food and fuel prices are among the reasons for the jump.

Tokyo tops the list as the most expensive Asian city for expatriates, followed by Yokohama and Seoul.

ECA’s Cost of Living survey is carried out twice a year, comparing a basket of more than 120 consumer goods and services commonly bought by expatriates in over 370 locations worldwide. – CNA/ac

Source : Channel NewsAsia – 11 Jun 2008

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