According to ECA International, Tokyo is the most expensive city in the Asia



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The most expensive cities in Asia
Research by ECA International

8 December 2011: Tokyo tops the ranking again, regionally and globally The Japanese yen has remained strong and Tokyo remains the most expensive location in the region. For the second consecutive year, it is also the most costly globally. TABLE

Singapore, which has moved rapidly up the global ranking to 31st place in recent years, has firmly secured its position among Asia's top ten, moving from 8th to 6th position over the last year. Not only has the Singapore dollar continued to strengthen against major currencies but the actual price of goods and services in ECA's cost of living basket has gone up by around 5.7 per cent on average over the last twelve months.

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The most expensive locations in mainland China are Beijing, in 35th position globally, and Shanghai in 41st. Of the Asian locations surveyed, Chinese provincial capitals have experienced the largest climbs up the global rankings: Chengdu rose 21 places to 144th place and Wuhan up 20 places to 146. On average, the actual prices of goods and services commonly purchased by international assignees have risen by nine per cent in China in the last 12 months.

A strong won means that Korean locations have maintained their positions towards the top of the global ranking. While Seoul has only risen one place to 21 in the last year, this is still significantly higher than its position two years ago in 56th place. Within the region it ranks as the 5th most expensive location for international assignees, ahead of Singapore, Shanghai and Hong Kong.

Locations in Pakistan come at the bottom of the regional ranking, with Karachi ranked 237th globally.

Impact of rising prices
The last 12 months have seen considerable increases in the cost of food, oil and other commodities in many parts of the world. Within the region, some of the biggest increases seen in the local prices of items in ECA's basket of goods and services have been witnessed in Bangladesh (15%), Vietnam (14.2%) and India (13.3%). On average, prices have risen by just over 8% in Asia.
 
"While, in locations like Singapore, price inflation has worked alongside exchange rate movements to push a location up the cost of living ranking, in other cases currency fluctuations are still outweighing the impact of inflation,” explained an ECA spokesman. “For example, despite dramatic price increases in Vietnam, the devaluation of the dong earlier this year has caused locations there to drop down the ranking. So while locals will see their costs going up, the spending power of assignees will have increased due to the effect of exchange rates."


Most expensive Asian cities

Asia Ranking 2011
City
Global Ranking 2011
1
Tokyo
1
2
Nagoya
4
3
Yokohama
6
4
Kobe
10
5
Seoul
21
6
Singapore
31
7
Beijing
35
8
Shanghai
41
9
Hong Kong
58
10
Busan
63
11
Ulsan
77
12
Taipei
80
13
Guangzhou
84
14
Shenzhen
89
15
Jakarta
90
16
Kaohsiung
110
17
Shenyang
112
18
Tianjin
116
19
Qingdao
119
20
Dalian
124
21
Chongqing
135
22
Bangkok
140
23
Suzhou
143
24
Chengdu
144
25
Wuhan
146
25
Xiamen
146
27
Nanjing
153
28
Xi'an
155
29
Surabaya
162
30
Kuala Lumpur
179
31
Chiang Mai
181
32
Metro-Manila
187
33
Vientiane
191
34
New Delhi
194
35
Johor Bahru
196
36
Mumbai
206
37
George Town
208
38
Colombo
209
39
Ulaanbaatar
210
40
Dhaka
215
41
Hanoi
217
42
Bangalore
220
43
Ho Chi Minh City
224
44
Chennai
225
45
Hyderabad
226
46
Pune
230
47
Kolkata
233
48
Islamabad
236
49
Karachi
237
Research by ECA International

ECA research: | World table | Europe table | Asian table |




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