S'pore is 9th most expensive Asian city

[SINGAPORE] The Republic has slipped one spot to become the ninth most expensive Asian city for expatriates, marking the first time since 2010 that it has fallen behind Hong Kong in eighth position.

ECA International, which undertakes this biannual cost-of-living survey, said this was largely due to the recent weakening of the Singapore dollar against the US dollar, to which the Hong Kong currency is pegged.

Its Asia regional director Lee Quane told The Business Times: "Singapore has been leapfrogged by Hong Kong mainly because of currency movements. We collect our data in local currency, but for the purposes of the rankings, we convert all prices to USD.