Taipei among top 10 most expensive cities in Asia: survey

ECA International released a survey report Wednesday on 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 Demark, 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 Korean capital 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, as compared with 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.

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