S’pore is 8th most expensive city in Asia for expats: ECA international

SINGAPORE — Singapore has been ranked as the 8th most expensive city in Asia for expatriates in the latest cost of living survey by consulting firm ECA International released today (Dec 10).

The Republic moved up one spot from last year in the ranking, which also placed Singapore as the 18th most expensive city in the world for expats.

The top three most expensive cities in Asia were Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong. Zurich, Geneva and Bern topped ECA’s global ranking.

Hong Kong is now five places above Singapore in the regional rankings this year, after being behind Singapore last year. Hong Kong’s rise up the rankings is largely due to the relative strength of its currency in the past 12 months, ECA said. A year ago, the prices of goods and services in ECA’s shopping basket for Singapore were 1 per cent higher than Hong Kong’s; this year they are 8 per cent less.

Cost of living in the ECA survey is calculated based on the allowance required to buy a basket of like-for-like consumer goods and services commonly purchased by expats in more than 450 locations worldwide. Certain living costs, which are usually covered by separate allowances, such as accommodation rental, utilities, car purchases and school fees are not included in ECA’s cost of living basket.

Last month, the Asian Competitiveness Institute (ACI), a research centre under the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, also released its list of the most expensive cities for expatriates. In the ACI list, Singapore was ranked 4th globally and the most expensive in Asia.

ACI’s rankings looks at cost of living, wages, and purchasing power for expatriates and residents across 103 major cities across the globe. The results are based on 2013 data, the latest available at the time the study was conducted.