亚洲最昂贵城市 香港排名第六
Living in Hong Kong just got a little pricier.
In a list of the world’s most expensive cities for expatriates, Hong Kong rose to 32nd place from 52nd in 2009, according to a report released Thursday.
ECA International, a consultancy that works with 1,500 multinational corporations, collected cost-of-living data of 400 cities world-wide, the results of which are used to help determine cost-of-living allowances for its clients. Japanese cities dominated the top of the list, largely because of the yen’s strength: Tokyo cinched the title as the most expensive city, from third place in 2009. Nagoya, Yokohama and Kobe came in third, fourth and fifth, respectively. Luanda, Angola, the most expensive city last year, dropped to second this year.
The report takes into consideration food, clothing and drink expenses for its rankings, but not rent since companies typically offer a separate housing allowance, ECA said.
Overall, Asian cities rose in rankings with the strengthening of some of its currencies, including the Korean won, Singapore dollar, Thai baht and Japanese yen. About 70% of the 50 Asian cities surveyed rose in world-wide rankings compared with last year. But as Asian cities remained strong on the list, European cities took a hit because of the weakening euro. Paris, for instance, fell to 24th this year from 16th last year.
Looking at Asian cities, Hong Kong dropped to sixth most expensive city in the region, from fifth last year. Seoul moved up to fifth place from seventh, largely due to the won rebounding, said Lee Quane, ECA’s Asia-Pacific regional director.
Singapore, on the other hand, inched up right behind Hong Kong, ranking No. 8 in Asia and No. 42 world-wide. Hong Kong’s cost-of-living difference was 15% higher than Singapore’s in 2008; in 2010, the difference is 2%.
A 2009 ECA report found Hong Kong in the top ranking of most expensive housing costs. Monthly rent for a three-bedroom apartment in an expat neighborhood in 2009 cost about US$9,100, compared with US$7,500 in New York and US$6,000 in London.
So is Hong Kong still attractive to companies?
Yes, said Mr. Quane. “There are cheaper locations in Asia where people can set up regional headquarters,” he said. “But there’s a reason why companies are still moving staff and regional operations to Hong Kong. It’s got a market here.”香港的生活成本只是稍稍贵了一些。
一份周四公布的报告显示，对旅居海外的侨民来说，在世界上生活成本最昂贵的城市排名中，香港从2009年的52名上升至32名。
与1,500家跨国企业有合作关系的环球人力资源咨询及顾问机构ECA International收集了世界上400个城市生活成本的数据，而调查结果可用来帮助其客户确定应给员工发放多少生活补贴。日本城市在此次调查排名中高居榜首。东京从2009年的第三上升至第一，成为世界上对海外侨民来说最昂贵的城市。名古屋、横滨和神户分别位居第三、第四和第五名。安哥拉首都罗安达去年是全球最贵城市，今年落后一位，屈居第二。
ECA表示，所调查的生活成本包括食物、服装和饮料等花费，但不包括房租，因为公司一般会为员工提供单独的住房津贴。
由于韩圆、新加坡元、泰铢和日圆等部分亚洲货币纷纷升值，因此亚洲城市在此次调查中的排名出现整体性上升。接受调查的50个亚洲城市中有约70%的排名较上年有所提升。不过在亚洲城市在排行榜上依然为数众多的同时，欧洲城市却因为欧元走软而受到一定影响。巴黎从去年排名第16下跌至今年第24位。
ECA亚太区主管关礼廉(Lee Quane)说，若单看亚洲城市，香港从去年排名第五下跌一位，成为亚洲地区第六大昂贵城市。首尔则从第七上升到第五，这在很大程度上得益于韩圆的反弹。
另外，新加坡紧随香港之后，在亚洲最昂贵城市中排名第八，世界第42位。2008年，香港的生活成本比新加坡高出15%，而2010年仅高出2%。
ECA2009年报告显示，香港的住房费用全球最高。2009年，香港侨民社区一个带有三间卧室的公寓每月房租约9,100美元，同样的公寓在纽约只有7,500美元，伦敦6,000美元。
如此说来，香港对企业而言还有吸引力吗？
关礼廉说，吸引力是有的。他说，亚洲有生活成本较低的地方，可以在那些地方设立亚洲总部，但为什么还有公司仍不断将员工和亚太业务带到香港？因为香港有市场。
