When its comes to the most expensive cities in the world, Singapore has risen eight places in ECA’s recently released cost of living rankings to become the fifth most pricey for expatriates.
That’s the island state’s first time being among the top five, said ECA.
The ascent was primarily driven by rapidly rising accommodation costs, the firm pointed out.
Singapore is one of the few locations in Asia that moved up the rankings this year, due to rents rising significantly in 2022, ECA noted.
“The fall of many Asian locations in our rankings can be attributed in part to lower rates of inflation relative to other regions included in our research. However, some locations bucked this trend,” said Lee Quane, Regional Director – Asia at ECA International.
Increased demand for rental accommodation in the Singapore, driven by factors such as the earlier relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions compared to other key locations in the region, was not matched by corresponding increases in the supply of suitable accommodation, Quane noted.
Singapore maintains a significant lead in the ranking of the most expensive cities in South East Asia, further widening the gap between the city-state and its regional counterparts, according to ECA.
Bangkok, the second most expensive city in the region after Singapore, dropped 13 places to become the 60th most expensive location in the world, ECA said
“Despite relatively high rates of price growth, Bangkok still fell in our rankings,” said Quane. “The baht has weakened against major currencies in the past 12 months, making it cheaper than many locations. The same pattern was witnessed in other south-east Asian locations where moderate to high rates of inflation were offset by weaker currencies.”
East Asia highlights
Hong Kong has dropped one place and is now the second among the most expensive cities in the world, surpassed by New York, according to ECA, adding that this shift marks the end of Hong Kong's four-year reign at the top.
“Costs for goods and services in Hong Kong rose at multi-year highs, showing that the city was not spared from the wave of inflation we have seen throughout the world in the past year,” Quane said. “In spite of this, Hong Kong fell in our rankings as the increase in prices of day-to-day goods and services was tempered by falls in accommodation costs in the city.”
Chinese cities fell in the rankings due to the impact of a weaker Chinese yuan and lower inflation rates compared to other countries. Shanghai and Guangzhou, while retaining their status as the most expensive cities in China, have fallen out of the global top 10 and now rank as the 13th and 14th most expensive cities in the world, ECA said.
“China’s relatively late emergence from Covid-19 related restrictions had an impact on its economy,” explained Quane. “The yuan is weaker against the US dollar than it was last year, resulting in lower costs in its cities. Inflation rates have been lower than in many other locations in the world as well.”
Cities in Taiwan have also seen double-digit drops in rankings, with Taipei sliding 11 places to 31st spot globally, according to ECA.
Similarly, Japanese cities witnessed significant falls in the ranking as currency depreciation counteracted inflation rates that are at multiyear highs, ECA pointed out, adding that Tokyo, which was consistently among the top five globally in the past five years, has dropped five places to 10th.
