Chinese cities dominate a list of the 20 most-expensive in the Asia-Pacific region for expatriates, as the yuan makes gains on rival currencies, a cost-of-living survey by ECA International showed.
Chinese cities, including Hong Kong, account for 11 of the 20 most-expensive Asian cities, the London-based consultancy said.
Shanghai jumped from third place last year to become the most expensive in Asia this year, it said.
“In spite of the minor depreciation in the renminbi against the [US] dollar over the summer, it has strengthened against most other currencies, leading to Shanghai becoming the most-expensive Asian city for international assignees,” ECA’s Asia regional director Lee Quane said.
“It is likely that major Chinese cities will remain expensive destinations for mobile executives for the foreseeable future,” Quane said.
Chinese cities also make up the biggest share of a list of the 30 most-expensive worldwide for expatriates, with six of them beating cities in Switzerland and Japan, the survey showed.
Chinese cities listed in the study jumped across the board in Asia, it said.
Beijing (second), Guangzhou (sixth) and Shenzhen (seventh) rose from fourth, 13th and 22nd, it said.
Macau saw the largest rank increase, moving up to 13th place from 34th last year, it said.
In a previous survey, Taipei was the 11th-most expensive city in Asia.
Taipei’s global ranking was 66th in the June ranking, compared with 87th last year.
Kaohsiung jumped from 114th to 97th in the global rankings and moved up one place to the 14th-most expensive city in Asia.
Additional reporting by CNA
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