Hong Kong is great for an expat's career prospects, but living in the city can be tough. Photo: AFP
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https://scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/1861238/hong-kong-best-place-expats-advance-their-careers-study-finds Hong Kong economy
Hong Kong the best place for expats to advance their careers, but study finds Singapore the best place to live
Singapore was found to be the best place to live and work as an expat. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong is the best place in the world for expats to advance their careers, but it ranks behind Singapore and Taiwan as a place to live and work, according to a survey.
The poll, conducted by the research firm YouGov and commissioned by HSBC, sought views from more than 21,000 expatriates from 198 countries over three months earlier this year. They were asked how they felt about the country or territory they were working in.
Hong Kong emerged as a great career choice, with more than two-thirds of expats questioned declaring that “Hong Kong is a good place for career progression”. The average salary of Hong Kong expats questioned was more than US$176,000 per year, about US$70,000 above the global average.
Yet other factors, such as quality of life and ease of raising a family, held the city back. Overall it finished 11th, ranking behind Singapore in first place and Taiwan in eighth.
Singapore beat Hong Kong in all three main categories: economics, experience and family. Some 80 per cent of expats in the Lion City reported feeling confident about its economy, while 60 per cent said their children were healthier.
“Singapore emerges as the best place overall to live and work as an expat,” said Dean Blackburn, head of HSBC Expat. “People who live there praise Singapore as a true all-rounder. Its streets are safe, job opportunities are plentiful, wages are high and it offers plenty to see and do.”
In the economic category, Singapore’s biggest advantage over Hong Kong came on the question of “politics”. For experience, Singapore ranked much better on “health”. Intriguingly, under the family section, expats in Singapore felt more satisfied in terms of “closeness with partner”.
Nevertheless, the research also found Hong Kong fared better than Singapore in areas such as entrepreneurship and social life.
Mainland China, meanwhile, ranked 27th in the survey – putting it behind Saudi Arabia and Vietnam. New Zealand and Sweden took second and third places respectively, with Bahrain and Germany rounding out the top five.