According to data recently released by ECA International, Singapore has been ranked the 13th most expensive city in the world for expatriates for the second consecutive year. In ECA’s latest cost of living rankings—which compare the living and accommodation costs faced by expatriates in 207 cities worldwide—Singapore’s ranking remains unchanged from last year, despite significant price increases.
Lee Quane, ECA’s Regional Director for Asia, said in a news report on June 7: “It may come as a surprise to some that Singapore has maintained its ranking as the 13th most expensive city in the world, despite rising costs for housing rentals, utilities, and petrol, which have pushed its inflation rate above the average of 5%.”
However, the higher costs were offset by the weakness of the Singapore dollar, Quane added. “The Singapore dollar has weakened against other regional currencies, such as the Chinese yuan and the US dollar, primarily due to a sharp slowdown in manufacturing and exports towards the end of our survey period.”
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Singapore ranked seventh on the list of most expensive cities in Asia, while Hong Kong retained its top spot in the global rankings, remaining the most expensive location in the world for expatriates, the same as last year. Hong Kong remained at the top despite lower rates of price increases compared to other similar regions globally. Quane attributed this to the strength of the Hong Kong dollar, which is pegged to the US dollar, over the past year.
Meanwhile, many cities in mainland China continued to rise in the rankings, with four cities now among the 15 most expensive in the world. Shanghai is also now the third most expensive city in Asia, after Hong Kong and Tokyo.
Furthermore, all Japanese cities have dropped in the latest rankings due to the weakening of the yen, caused by higher-than-expected inflation and negative interest rates. Tokyo, in particular, fell three places to fifth in ECA’s global rankings.
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