New | Hong Kong eighth most expensive Asian city for expats
Survey shows Chinese cities are getting more expensive
Hong Kong has surpassed Singapore to become the eighth most expensive city in Asia for an expatriate worker to live in, a new cost of living report has found.
The ranks of the two were inverted last year and the last time Hong Kong was more expensive than the city-state was in 2010.
Human resources consultancy ECA International attributed Hong Kong’s overtaking of Singapore to the latter’s currency weakening against the US dollar, to which the Hong Kong dollar is pegged.
The Hong Kong dollar has appreciated three to four per cent against the Singapore dollar in the last 12 months, the report said.
Globally, Hong Kong punched in at No 28 on the index, which surveys about 400 locations worldwide, twice a year.
Singapore dropped one place to 30 in the world rankings, while Shanghai and Beijing both climbed significantly from 25 to 18, and 21 to 15 respectively.
Fuelled by an appreciating Renminbi, rising food and oil prices, Beijing is now the second most expensive city for expats in Asia, behind Tokyo.