Expats find Singapore a tad more expensive

Source : Business Times – 3 Dec 2009

S’pore moves up 3 spots to 9th position in Asia: survey

IT is not all cheap hawker food and iPods for expatriates who are based in Singapore.

The latest Cost of Living survey from ECA International has given expatriates here a stronger case to make when lobbying company headquarters for a larger expense package.

This year, Singapore climbed three spots – from 12th – to be the ninth most expensive Asian city, having been on the receiving end of both rising inflation and a strengthening Singapore dollar.

This makes Singapore a more expensive city to live in than Taipei, Shenzhen or Guangzhou.

Japanese cities dominated this year’s rankings in Asia, with Tokyo ranking first, followed by Yokohama, Nagoya and Kobe.

While Hong Kong remain more expensive than Singapore at fifth place, the gap in the cost of living has narrowed, from 15 per cent last year to 7 per cent this year.

‘While such increases are unlikely to deter companies from relocating staff to Singapore, the cost of doing do is now higher than it was a year ago,’ said Lee Quane, regional director of ECA International for Asia.

‘Companies employing international assignees are likely to be paying higher cost of living allowances to ensure that their employees continue to maintain their purchasing power while on assignment.’

Singapore’s cost of living is put into better context from a global perspective, with the island ranking only 78th this year. Even so, this represents a quantum leap in rankings, from its 97th position last year.

Globally, Luanda in Angola remained the most expensive city, with Tokyo and Oslo in second and third place respectively.

ECA International’s Cost of Living survey is carried out twice a year, comparing a basket of consumer goods and services commonly purchased by assignees in over 390 places globally.

While the survey includes items like food, clothing and motoring expenses, it does not take into account other living costs like accommodation, utilities, car purchases and school fees.

These expenses tend to make the expatriate bill significantly larger but are often compensated for in separate expatriate packages, according to ECA International.