Seoul – Named Costliest City in Asia

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By Mingolo  | Published Dec 2007

Seoul is the most expensive city in Asia according to Employment Conditions Abroad Limited (ECA).

Top Ten most expensive cities in Asia are:
1) Seoul
2) Tokyo
3) Yokohama
4) Kobe
5) Hong Kong
6) Taipei
7) Beijing
8) Shanghai
9) Singapore
10) Guangzhou

The latest twice-yearly survey by human resources fi rm ECA International showed the South Korean capital jump one notch higher to rank seventh globally in a list of the most expensive places for expatriates over the last 12 months.

Tokyo retained its place as the second most expensive Asian city but globally, the Japanese capital dropped out of the top 10 list for the first time because of the weaker yen.

Depreciation of the yen against most other currencies, coupled with low inflation, has signifi cantly reduced living costs for foreigners in Tokyo, Yokohama and Kobe in recent years.

Yokohama placed third, followed by Kobe, Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore, with the Chinese city of Guangzhou taking the 10th spot, the survey said.

There were 15 Chinese cities featured in the list of 39 Asian cities surveyed.

Higher food prices, along with the strengthening Chinese currency, have seen expatriates’ living costs in Chinese cities go up, narrowing the gap with other more developed East Asian cities such as Hong Kong and Taipei.

“In China, soaring food, oil and grain product prices along with the strengthening yuan against the US dollar have meant that locations throughout China have pushed up through the ranking during this period,” ECA International said.

Asian rankings

Jakarta was the 11th most expensive place, Bangkok was in 18th place and Manila was in 19th place. Hanoi, in 32nd place, was judged as more expensive than Kuala Lumpur which was in 33rd place, just a notch above the Laotian capital Vientianne.

Islamabad was the least expensive among the Asian cities surveyed at number 39.

African countries ranked higher

Globally, Angola’s capital city Luanda was the most expensive for expatriates.

The commodity boom in recent years has led to considerable currency appreciations in commodity-exporting markets, such as Angola, making it an increasingly expensive location for expatriates.

ECA’s twice-yearly survey compares a basket of 128 consumer items purchased by expatriates in over 300 locations globally.

source: www.eca-international.co