By Ann Williams, The Straits Times, 5 Mar 2015
IT MAY be the most expensive city in the world for expatriates but Singapore is also once again the top city in Asia for this group when it comes to quality of life, going by a Mercer survey.
Mercer conducts its Quality of Living Survey annually to help multinational companies and other employers determine expatriate pay packages when posting staff overseas.
It released its 2015 ranking yesterday, placing Singapore 26th globally but the highest in Asia, followed in the region by three Japanese cities - Tokyo (44), Kobe (47) and Yokohama (48).
A day earlier, Singapore was named the world's most expensive city for expatriates for the second year running by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
On the positive side, Mercer has named Singapore the top in Asia for quality of living for several years, most recently in its 2014 survey.
The global human resource consultancy evaluates local living conditions in more than 440 cities, according to factors such as political stability, level of crime, banking services, media censorship and housing, as well as availability of services such as health care, education and transport.
There were 12 Asia-Pacific cities in the top 50 but European cities dominated the top 10 places.
Vienna has the world's best quality of living, according to Mercer, with Zurich, Auckland and Munich in second, third and fourth places respectively.
Vancouver, in fifth place, is the highest-ranking city in North America and the region's only city in the top 10.
Other key cities in Asia include Hong Kong (70), Seoul (72), Taipei (83), Shanghai (101) and Beijing (118).
Behind Singapore, the second highest-ranking city in South-east Asia is Kuala Lumpur at No. 84, followed by Bangkok (117), Manila (136), and Jakarta (140). In South Asia, Colombo (132), ranks highest and is followed by emerging Indian cities Hyderabad (138) and Pune (145).
"The survey results show that the Asia-Pacific is a hugely diverse and dynamic region," said Mr Mario Ferraro, global mobility leader for Asia, Middle East and Africa at Mercer.
"Within the same region there are some stark differences in quality of living, which organisations should take into account when deploying expatriates across borders," he said.
At 230th place, Baghdad was the city with the poorest quality of living in the world.
"As with last year's survey, we continue to recognise emerging cities that are increasingly becoming competitors to traditional business and finance centres," said Mr Slagin Parakatil, principal at Mercer.
"These so-called 'second- tier emerging cites' are investing, particularly in infrastructure, to improve their quality-of-living standards and ultimately attract more foreign companies," he added.
IT was a year when inflation in Singapore fell below 1 per cent, but the Economic Intelligence Unit (EIU) still rated it the world's most expensive city for expatriates.
EIU again rates Singapore costliest for expats
By Yasmine Yahya, Assistant Money Editor, The Straits Times, 4 Mar 2015
By Yasmine Yahya, Assistant Money Editor, The Straits Times, 4 Mar 2015
It is the same position that Singapore had occupied for 2013. It was pointed out then that Singapore had paid the price for its strong currency as the expatriate cost of living was measured in US dollars and did not affect locals.
Last year, too, the Singapore dollar remained fairly strong against the US currency for much of the year before the greenback started clawing back lost ground over the past few months.
There is another caveat, too.
The EIU said Swiss cities Zurich and Geneva would actually top Singapore at current exchange rates if its Worldwide Cost of Living Survey took into account the recent jump in value of the Swiss franc after Switzerland unpegged its currency from the euro.
As it stands now, the top five most expensive cities in the world remain unchanged from last year: Singapore in the lead, followed by Paris, Oslo, Zurich and Sydney.
The EIU's survey, released yesterday, comprises 133 cities worldwide and compares the cost of more than 160 services and products including food, clothing and utility bills.
The survey uses New York as a base, with prices in each city compared against those in New York.
The information gathered is designed to be used to calculate the costs of relocating and living for expatriates and business travellers.
This means the products and services studied tend to be on the more luxurious end of the scale and do not necessarily reflect the consumption patterns of ordinary Singaporeans.
In last year's survey, for example, the basket of items that the EIU studied included things such as imported cheese, filet mignon steak, the four best seats in a theatre and Cointreau liquor.
The survey also looks at how much it would cost to buy a car, noting that "Singapore's complex Certificate of Entitlement system makes car prices excessive, with Singaporean transport costs almost three times higher than in New York".
The EIU noted, however, that despite topping the ranking, Singapore still offers relative value in some categories, especially compared with its regional peers.
"For general basic groceries, Singapore is only 11 per cent more expensive than New York. This compares with 49 per cent more in Seoul, 43 per cent in Tokyo and 31 per cent in Hong Kong, implying that value for money can be found by those who seek it."
EIU also pointed out: "Midway through 2014, Singapore lay in fourth position, and the reassertion of an identical top five comes with a stronger US dollar and weaker euro pushing euro zone cities back down later in 2014."
The weak yen has pushed Tokyo to 11th place.
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