Rise of yen sees Tokyo take top slot as most expensive city
LONDON - Tokyo has emerged as the most costly city for expatriates with the rise of yen against the dollar scaling up the cost of living for staff and firms paid in other currencies, pushing Angolan capital Luanda to the second spot, closely followed by Japan's Osaka, Moscow and Geneva.
The Mercer 'Worldwide Cost of Living Survey 2012, released Tuesday has ranked Zurich, Singapore, N'Djamena in Chad, Hong Kong and Nagoya among the top 10 most expensive cities while Karachi has been pegged as the least costly place for expatriates
Global HR services firm Mercer's survey of 214 cities worldwide ranks them according to their comparative costs of living for expatriates based on over 200 items including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
The ranking depends on the relative strength of a currency against the US dollar during March 2011 to March 2012. Further, price movements over the 12 month-period compared to those in New York City as the base, is also taken into account.
"Cities in Australia and New Zealand witnessed some of the biggest jumps, as their currencies strengthened significantly against US dollar," said Nathalie Constantin-Metral, Principal at Mercer, who is responsible for compiling the ranking each year.
Compared to New York, most European cities have witnessed a decline in the cost of living. There are five Asian cities in the top ten most expensive places to live in for expatriates.
In Asia, more than six in ten cities moved up in the rankings, including all surveyed cities in Australia, China, Japan and New Zealand.
Three Australian cities are now rated as more expensive than London for expatriates, with the strong dollar and steep rents blamed for the high cost of living.
"Cities in Australia and New Zealand witnessed some of the biggest jumps, as their currencies strengthened significantly against the US dollar," said Constantin-Mtral.
"Demand for rental properties has also increased significantly in all the Australian cities we rank," she said. "Coupled with very limited availability, the result has been very tight markets and increased prices."
Sydney, Melbourne and Perth now rank among the world's 20 most expensive cities, while the British capital dropped to 25th spot, according to the survey report.
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