Seoul is Asia's costliest city for expatriates, while the weaker yen has made Japanese cities more affordable, a survey released yesterday said.
The latest twice-yearly survey by human resources firm ECA International showed the South Korean capital jump one notch higher to rank seventh globally in a list of the most expensive places for expatriates over the last 12 months.
Tokyo retained its place as the second most expensive Asian city but globally, the Japanese capital dropped out of the top 10 list for the first time because of the weaker yen.
"Depreciation of the yen against most other currencies, coupled with low inflation, has significantly reduced living costs for foreigners in Tokyo, Yokohama and Kobe in recent years," ECA International said.
Yokohama placed third, followed by Kobe, Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai and Singapore, with the Chinese city of Guangzhou taking the 10th spot, the survey said.
There were 15 Chinese cities featured in the list of 39 Asian cities surveyed.
Higher food prices, along with the strengthening Chinese currency, have seen expatriates' living costs in Chinese cities go up, narrowing the gap with other more developed East Asian cities such as Hong Kong and Taipei.
"In China, soaring food, oil and grain product prices along with the strengthening yuan against the US dollar have meant that locations throughout China have pushed up through the ranking during this period," ECA International said.
Jakarta was the 11th most expensive place, Bangkok was in 18th place and Manila was in 19th place. Hanoi, in 32nd place, was judged as more expensive than Kuala Lumpur which was in 33rd place, just a notch above the Laotian capital Vientianne.
Islamabad was the least expensive among the Asian cities surveyed at number 39.
Globally, Angola's capital city Luanda was the most expensive for expatriates.
It was followed by Oslo, Moscow, Norway's seaport town of Stavanger, Copenhagen, Kinshasa, Seoul, Gabon's capital of Libreville and Geneva. Central London was in 10th spot.
"Some people may be surprised to see African locations in the top ten," said Lee Quane, ECA's Hong Kong-based general manager.
He said ECA's survey included items bought by expatriates that were not readily available locally which meant they were more expensive.
"In addition, the commodity boom in recent years has led to considerable currency appreciations in commodity-exporting markets, such as Angola, making it an increasingly expensive location for expatriates," Quane said.
ECA's twice-yearly survey compares a basket of 128 consumer items purchased by expatriates in over 300 locations globally.
The US dollar was trading at NT$29.7 at 10am today on the Taipei Foreign Exchange, as the New Taiwan dollar gained NT$1.364 from the previous close last week. The NT dollar continued to rise today, after surging 3.07 percent on Friday. After opening at NT$30.91, the NT dollar gained more than NT$1 in just 15 minutes, briefly passing the NT$30 mark. Before the US Department of the Treasury's semi-annual currency report came out, expectations that the NT dollar would keep rising were already building. The NT dollar on Friday closed at NT$31.064, up by NT$0.953 — a 3.07 percent single-day gain. Today,
‘SHORT TERM’: The local currency would likely remain strong in the near term, driven by anticipated US trade pressure, capital inflows and expectations of a US Fed rate cut The US dollar is expected to fall below NT$30 in the near term, as traders anticipate increased pressure from Washington for Taiwan to allow the New Taiwan dollar to appreciate, Cathay United Bank (國泰世華銀行) chief economist Lin Chi-chao (林啟超) said. Following a sharp drop in the greenback against the NT dollar on Friday, Lin told the Central News Agency that the local currency is likely to remain strong in the short term, driven in part by market psychology surrounding anticipated US policy pressure. On Friday, the US dollar fell NT$0.953, or 3.07 percent, closing at NT$31.064 — its lowest level since Jan.
The New Taiwan dollar and Taiwanese stocks surged on signs that trade tensions between the world’s top two economies might start easing and as US tech earnings boosted the outlook of the nation’s semiconductor exports. The NT dollar strengthened as much as 3.8 percent versus the US dollar to 30.815, the biggest intraday gain since January 2011, closing at NT$31.064. The benchmark TAIEX jumped 2.73 percent to outperform the region’s equity gauges. Outlook for global trade improved after China said it is assessing possible trade talks with the US, providing a boost for the nation’s currency and shares. As the NT dollar
The Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) yesterday met with some of the nation’s largest insurance companies as a skyrocketing New Taiwan dollar piles pressure on their hundreds of billions of dollars in US bond investments. The commission has asked some life insurance firms, among the biggest Asian holders of US debt, to discuss how the rapidly strengthening NT dollar has impacted their operations, people familiar with the matter said. The meeting took place as the NT dollar jumped as much as 5 percent yesterday, its biggest intraday gain in more than three decades. The local currency surged as exporters rushed to
RSS