S'pore is 6th most expensive city for expats: survey
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SINGAPORE: Singapore has been ranked the sixth most expensive city for expatriates, according to the latest cost of living survey released by global human resource consultancy Mercer.
Mercer said Singapore's move from eighth to sixth spot this year is largely due to the slight appreciation of the Singapore dollar against the US dollar.
Tokyo ranked first in the survey, moving up one place from 2011, pushing Luanda, Angola down to second position.
Of the top 10 most expensive cities, five are located in Asia.
Osaka in Japan climbed three places to third spot in the 2012 ranking. That is followed by Singapore in sixth, Hong Kong in ninth and Japan's Nagoya in tenth place.
Chinese cities also rose in the ranking, with Shanghai climbing from 21st to 16th place, and Beijing moving up from 20th to 17th spot in 2012.
Meanwhile, Australian cities continue to rank high following the strengthening of the Australian dollar. Mercer said Australia now has all six surveyed cities in the top 30 and they all moved up the ranking this year. They include cities like Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Canberra, Brisbane and Adelaide.
As Asia-Pacific climbs up the ranking, Mercer said many European cities have gone the other way, as a result of considerable weakening of local currencies, including the Euro against the green back.
For example, London fell seven places to 25th, Paris was down 10 spots to 37th and Milan slid from 25th in 2011 to 38th place this year. Karachi in Pakistan remained as the least expensive city for expatriates, unchanged from 2011.
-CNA/ac -
Why not first?
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Angola 2nd place.
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How much does a car cost in Angola?