S’pore returns to top 20 list of most expensive cities for expats

Singapore has been ranked as the 20th most expensive city globally in the latest survey by ECA International.

Singapore has once again returned to the top 20 list of most expensive cities for expats, reported Channel NewsAsia citing the latest survey by ECA International.

The city-state was ranked 20th most expensive globally and ninth in the Asia Pacific region.

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“The price of goods and services included in our basket of goods has only seen modest increase in Singapore over the past 12 months, in line with other similar economies in Asia,” said Lee Quane, regional director for Asia at ECA International.

“However, the rise in the rankings has been due to the relative strength of the Singapore dollar versus the US greenback in the past year.”

In December, Singapore was listed 21st most expensive in the world and ninth in the Asia Pacific. It was ranked 24th most expensive globally and 10th in Asia Pacific in June 2017.

The city-state achieved its highest ranking in 2016 when it settled in 18th place.

In the latest survey, Caracas in Venezuela topped the global rankings, mainly due to skyrocketing inflation, followed by four Swiss cities – Zurich, Geneva, Basel and Bern. The Angolan capital Luanda, which emerged as last year’s most expensive, came in next at sixth place.

In the Asia Pacific region, Tokyo was ranked the most expensive destination for expatriates, followed by Seoul, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing.

Hong Kong’s global ranking fell significantly from second to 11th place, or its lowest since 2015, mainly due to the drop in value of the US dollar, against which the Hong Kong dollar is pegged.

Aimed at helping companies determine the cost of living allowances for their overseas employees, the twice-yearly survey compares a basket of like-for-like consumer goods and services commonly purchased by expats worldwide, said ECA International.

However, certain living costs like school fees and accommodation were excluded from the basket since they are usually covered by separate allowances.

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Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg