Hong Kong retains title as world’s most expensive city for expats, with firm behind rankings blaming inflation
- Based on its own calculations, the firm ECA International found Hong Kong’s inflation rate was lower than the global average, but still higher than most of the other top 10 cities
- Geneva, Tokyo and New York were the runners-up, while Shanghai and Guangzhou were the highest-ranked mainland Chinese cities, coming in ninth and 10th
Hong Kong has retained its title as the world’s most expensive city for expats to live in for the second year running, with the firm behind the rankings attributing the result to rising inflation.
Trailing Hong Kong in the cost-of-living survey, released by the research data firm ECA International on Wednesday, were runners-up Geneva, Tokyo and New York, while Shanghai and Guangzhou were the highest-ranked mainland Chinese cities, coming in ninth and 10th, respectively.
ECA calculated its own inflation rate based on a basket of everyday goods and services, finding that prices in Hong Kong had risen by 2.7 per cent year on year as of September, driven largely by fuel costs.
Though that rate was lower than the global average of 3 per cent, it was still higher than most of the other top 10 cities, giving Hong Kong the edge, said Lee Quane, ECA’s regional director for Asia.
“The increase of Hong Kong’s inflation rate showed the city’s economy is recovering gradually from politics and social unrest,” Quane added.
According to the Census and Statistics Department, the city’s official inflation rate stood at 1.7 per cent year on year as of October.
With Seoul in the No 8 slot, Asian cities accounted for half of this year’s top 10, up from just three last year.