Asian expats like quality of life in Singapore best

Singapore the best city in the world for Asian expatriates to live in due mainly to its quality of life and low crime rate, a survey released by ECA International yesterday showed.

The ECA survey compared living standards in 254 locations worldwide.

Sydney rated second in the survey, with the third spot shared by Melbourne and Kobe in Japan, the human resources firm said.

Rounding the top 10 list for Asian expats was Copenhagen in fifth spot, followed by Canberra and Vancouver. Wellington and Yokohama shared eighth spot, with Dublin next.

ECA Singapore was ranked above the other cities because it also offered Asian expatriates a similar feel to their home countries.

"Since quality of living is relative to where someone comes from and to where they are going, our scores take into account the home and destination country," said Lee Quane, ECA International's general manager in Hong Kong.

ECA International's annual survey is based on categories such as climate, air quality, health services, housing, political tensions and personal safety.

Hong Kong was ranked 15th in the global cities list, with the territory's air pollution cited as a drawback.

Among Chinese cities, Shanghai was seen as the best place for top Asian professionals, while Xian ranked as the worst location.

Beijing worse than other Chinese cities such as Nanjing and Tianjin because of its notorious air pollution, the survey showed.

Within Asia, Hong Kong and Tokyo were ranked joint fourth behind Singapore, Kobe and Yokahama, ECA International said.

Trailing sixth spot was Taipei, followed by Macau and Bangkok, with Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur and Georgetown sharing ninth spot while Shanghai and Seoul were in 11th and 12th places respectively.

Manila ranked 24th in Asia and 133 globally, while Jakarta was in 39th place regionally and 190th worldwide.