City Mayors: Most expensive cities in Asia

According to ECA International, Tokyo is the most expensive city in Asia...
(Photo by Manganite)

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The most expensive cities in Asia
Research by ECA International

Strong currencies are pushing up the cost of living for staff assigned to major Asian locations, according to ECA International. Tokyo remains the most expensive location in Asia, due largely to the appreciation of the yen against other major currencies. Joining Japanese locations in the region’s top ten are the Chinese cities of Beijing and Shanghai as well as Hong Kong and Singapore. Table

The strengthening of Asian currencies is the dominant factor contributing to the region being more expensive for visitors than it was 12 months ago. In that period, the yuan has continued to strengthen while the yen has appreciated by almost eight per cent against the US dollar. Many Western currencies, including sterling, the euro and the Swiss franc, have weakened. As a result, people coming from these economies into Asia will notice a considerable difference in costs compared with 12 months ago.

Singapore
Singapore has moved into the top ten most expensive locations within the region in spite of its weakened currency. Price rises have not slowed down as much in Singapore as in other parts of Asia. The ECA data shows that while the prices of goods and services in China and Malaysia have increased at half last year’s pace, in Singapore this rate is down by just 25 per cent. Furthermore, currencies of locations previously more expensive than Singapore, notably London, Stockholm and Istanbul, have depreciated at an even faster rate than the Singapore dollar. These factors have contributed to Singapore becoming more expensive for visitors than many of the other locations in the survey."

Hong Kong
The rebound of the US dollar against many major currencies has meant that cost of living in Hong Kong, where the currency is linked to the dollar, has risen relative to many other locations. This is reflected by its move from 98th to 29th position in the ranking. The effect of inflation in Hong Kong this year has been more moderate than last year. The major reason behind Hong Kong becoming more expensive for assignees is due to the strengthening of the US dollar over the year.

Not all Asian currencies have strengthened, however. The tumbling Korean won has seen Seoul, the region’s most expensive location for assignees just two years ago, fall to 17th position regionally and 101st worldwide. Likewise, the depreciation of the ringgit has made the cost of living cheaper for assignees heading to Malaysia, while the Thai baht, the Indonesian rupiah and the Taiwanese dollar have all depreciated against the US dollar in recent months.

Of the 15 Chinese cities featured in the survey, Beijing is the most expensive. New Delhi is the most expensive and Kolkata the cheapest of the 7 Indian locations included in the survey. The weakened Indian rupee, coupled with lower inflation has seen cost of living for expatriates in Indian locations fall below last year’s levels.

The Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar, is the cheapest location in Asia, with goods and services approximately a third of the cost there than when purchased in Tokyo.

Most expensive Asian cities

Asian ranking	Cities	Global ranking
1	Tokyo	2
2	Nagoya	3
3	Yokohama	4
4	Kobe	5
5	Beijing	26
6	Shanghai	28
7	Hong Kong	29
8	Shenzhen	59
9	Guangzhou	62
10	Singapore	72
11	Taipei	76
12	Tianjin	84
13	Dalian	86
14	Shenyang	88
15	Qingdao	89
16	Chongqing	100
17	Seoul	101
18	Kaohsiung	109
19	Chengdu	110
20	Suzhou	113
21	Wuhan	113
22	Xiamen	115
23	Xi'an	118
24	Nanjing	122
25	Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk	140
26	Busan	159
27	Ulsan	164
28	Bangkok	174
29	Vientiane	183
30	Hanoi	186
31	Tashkent	189
32	Jakarta	190
33	Chiang Mai	192
34	Ho Chi Minh City	198
35	Metro-Manila	202
36	Colombo	207
37	Surabaya	208
38	Kuala Lumpur	210
39	Dhaka	212
40	Johor Bahru	216
41	New Delhi	217
42	George Town	218
43	Mumbai	219
44	Chennai	223
45	Bangalore	224
46	Hyderabad	225
47	Pune	227
48	Karachi	228
49	Kolkata	229
50	Islamabad	230
51	Ulaanbaatar	233

Research by ECA International

ECA research: | World table | Europe table |

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The most expensive cities in Asia Research by ECA International

The most expensive cities in Asia
Research by ECA International