TAIPEI: Taipei is among the 10 most expensive locations in Asia for international assignees, after Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya, Kobe, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Seoul, Beijing and Singapore, according to a survey conducted by the consultant ECA International.

ECA International released a survey report Wednesday on the cost of living in major cities in the world. Many international corporations use the biannual report as reference in calculating assignment salaries.

According to the report, Luanda in Angola remained the most expensive city in the world for two consecutive years 2008-2009, while four cities in Japan - Tokyo, Yokohama, Nagoya and Kobe - along with Oslo and Stavanger in Norway, Copenhagen in Denmark, and Geneva and Zurich in Switzerland were listed among the top 10.

In Asia, with the strong yen outweighing the impact of deflation in the Japanese capital, Tokyo maintained its position as the most expensive location. The South Korean capital of Seoul moved up to seventh place in 2009, while Taipei and Kaohsiung fell in the rankings this year to 10th and 15th, respectively, as a result of declining prices.

Taipei's ranking in the world was 99th, down from 78th in 2008, and Kaohsiung's ranking in 2009 was 138th, dropping from 99th the previous year.

Although prices have generally remained stable, exchange rate fluctuations have contributed the most to changes in the cost of living for international assignees over the past year, according to ECA International.

The ECA survey compares a basket of consumer goods and services commonly purchased by assignees in over 390 locations worldwide.

On the quality of living top ten list by ECA Internatinonal, Singapore is the champion for the tenth year in a row, while Taipei is a distant 56, globally, and no mainland cities are ahead of Taipei.

Three Japanese cities that landed in the top 10 are Kobe in third place, Yokohama fourth and Tokyo sixth.

Hong Kong just missed the best 10 mainly because of its infamous air pollution, as the respondents put the SAR in 11th place worldwide.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 12/04/2009 page2)