Hong Kong still most expensive city for expats – Mercer

PARIS, France – Hong Kong retains its place atop the rankings for a 3rd straight year as the world’s most expensive city for expats, according to the latest Mercer annual report on Tuesday, June 9.

The consultancy found Hong Kong, with its sky-high housing costs, was still ahead of 208 other cities while Asia provided 6 of the top 10 – Turkmen capital Ashgabat notably edging Tokyo out of second spot.

Sixth-placed New York – up 3 places – was the only United States entrant to make it into a top 10 featuring 3 Swiss cities – Zurich (4th), Bern (8th), and Geneva (9th).

Singapore fell meanwhile from 3rd to 5th.

Ashgabat is suffering from “an economic crisis which has brought about a dire currency shortage and therefore problems importing,” Mercer France head of mobility Jean-Philippe Sarra told Agence France-Presse, with currency rate fluctuations and inflation further contributory factors.

Mercer’s report found the strength of the dollar has forced up costs for expatriates in American cities.

After New York, San Francisco was the next US entrant, maintaining its 16th place, while Los Angeles rose one spot to 17th.

In Europe, London rose 4 places to 19th partly on the back of a relative rise in sterling, but Paris slid from 47th to 50th as the euro lost ground against the dollar, against which local currencies are measures for the survey.

The least expensive cities on the list are Karachi, Bishkek, Tashkent, Windhoek, and Tunis.

Sarra said the survey was based on the cost of living in February going into March, when “most countries had not yet been affected by the [COVID-19] crisis.”

Sarra noted a smaller sample of date taken in April did not show the virus as having a discernable impact, but added that future consequences for expatriates could not be ruled out. 

“There will be changes, but we still don’t know to what degree the crisis will impact on mobility,” said Sarra, noting that “there will be some expatriates who will no longer wish to stay or else to head off” on a foreign assignment. – Rappler.com