Costly cities in Asia
Singapore : Singapore has jumped two places to be the sixth most expensive city in Asia, according to a global survey.This comes on the back of a stronger local dollar against major currencies and a 5.7 per cent rise in the average price of goods and services.
For the first time, Singapore also ranked ahead of its closest competitor Hong Kong, which slipped from sixth last year to ninth position in this year.
The annual Cost of Living survey, conducted by ECA International in September this year, used indicators comprising of day-to-day goods and services such as the price of groceries, clothing and electrical goods. It measured cost of living in more than 400 cities.
Regional director of ECA International Asia Lee Quane said, “When we look at the overall cost of ECA’s basket of goods and services in Singapore a year ago, these items were 1.7 per cent less expensive in Singapore than when purchased in Hong Kong.”
Compared to countries worldwide, Singapore rose from 42nd to 32nd position while Hong Kong, which saw an increase in the price of goods, dropped 26 places to 58th position – the largest fall among Asian cities.
Meanwhile, Tokyo remains the most expensive city in Asia for the second consecutive year. It is followed by three other Japanese cities, Nagoya, Yokohama and Kobe, as well as the Korean city of Seoul.Rounding up the top ten after Singapore is Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Busan.
The Japanese capital also topped the global ranking for the second year running, due largely to the recent sharp rise of the country’s currency. Coming in second and third are Oslo and Geneva.-Yahoo
