Expatriates in key Asian cities are feeling the squeeze from the weak US dollar, which has pushed up their daily living expenses, a survey showed yesterday.
From grocery shopping to restaurant meals, expatriates have seen their purchasing power shrink as the greenback continues to slide, human resources consultancy ECA International said in its twice-yearly cost of living report.
The report found foreigners living in Japan were the hardest hit in Asia given the current strength of the yen.
“A lot of locations whose currencies are not pegged against the US dollar ... have risen in our [cost] rankings over the course of the last 12 months,” said Lee Quane, ECA International’s regional director based in Hong Kong.
Those who have moved to places such as Japan, Singapore, Indonesia and South Korea will require higher cost of living allowances to maintain the same purchasing power they had last year, he said.
“Japan remains the most expensive location in Asia largely because of the strength of the yen,” Lee said.
The dollar recently hit 14-year lows against the Japanese unit. ECA International’s survey measures the cost of a basket of 125 items purchased by expats in more than 390 locations globally.
The four costliest Asian cities were all in Japan, with Tokyo the most expensive; Yokohama ranked second followed by Nagoya and Kobe.
Hong Kong placed fifth in Asia, followed by Shanghai, with Seoul, Beijing, Singapore and Taipei rounding up ECA International’s top 10 costliest locations in the region this year.
Globally, the most expensive city for expatriates was Luanda because of the Angolan capital’s damaged infrastructure, followed in the top 10 by Tokyo, Oslo, Copenhagen, Yokohama, Stavanger in Norway, Nagoya, Geneva and Zurich.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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