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Denise Tsang

Hong Kong is the world's most expensive city after Tokyo and Moscow, according to new research.

The three cities lead the prices league ahead of New York, London and Beijing.

The research results were released yesterday by international consultants William Mercer, one of the world's largest human resources firms.

Seven of the world's 10 most expensive cities were in Asia, although only 16 Asian cities figured among the world's 100 most expensive places.

The survey compared the costs of more than 200 items from housing, food and clothing to entertainment and transport in 144 cities.

New York was used as the base city and given a score of 100 points.

Against the New York benchmark, Hong Kong scored 130 points - the same as last year - while Moscow scored 132 points and Tokyo came out top of the list with 134.

In a breakdown of costs, housing and petrol were more expensive in Hong Kong than in any other of the 144 cities.

But hamburgers were cheaper in Hong Kong than any other city that ranked in the 10 most expensive.

The consultancy firm said the gap between the world's most and least expensive cities was shrinking.

'In the last year alone, the gap has been reduced by nearly 20 per cent,' according to the report.

The cheapest place to live of cities surveyed was Bangalore in India.

The strong greenback pushed up the cost of living in a number of United States cities.

New York joined the list of the 10 most expensive cities for the first time, rising from 13th a year ago to eighth.

Other cities including San Francisco, Chicago and Los Angeles also experienced dramatic increases in their cost of living on the back of the strong dollar.

The dollar also pushed up prices in countries with currencies closely linked to the greenback.

One example was Russia, where the US dollar is commonly used.

St Petersburg, on 106.5 points, joined Moscow as more expensive than New York.

They were also the two most expensive cities in Europe, comfortably above London, which scored only 92.9 points.

'Compared to many of Europe's other cities, the cost of accommodation in London is significantly higher,' the report said.

'But transportation is relatively expensive, and this would include public services and both car purchase and running costs.'

Some of the most dramatic falls in living costs were recorded in Australia and New Zealand, where the local currencies have slumped but the quality of living remains high.

Graphic: liv16gbz



Hong Kong nears top of global cost parade after Tokyo and Moscow