Living costs for expats hit by a stronger Sing$ and rise in inflation
Fiona Chan Straits Times 3 Dec 09;
A STRONGER currency and a rise in inflation have made Singapore a more expensive place for expatriates to live in, a survey has found.
Singapore jumped three spots from a year ago to become the ninth priciest Asian city in the latest cost of living ranking by human resource company ECA International.
It beat Taiwan's Taipei and China's Shenzhen and Guangzhou, but remained cheaper than Japan's Tokyo and Yokohama, and China's Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Worldwide, Singapore's rising cost of living catapulted it into the 78th spot on this year's global survey, up almost 20 places from 97th last year.
The main reason for the movement - and, in fact, for most of the changes in this year's survey - was exchange rate fluctuations, said ECA International.
The Singapore dollar has gained about 10 per cent against the US dollar since March. This has helped push up the cost of living in Singapore, compared with some neighbouring cities whose currencies are pegged to the US dollar such as Hong Kong.
According to ECA International, living costs in Singapore are now just 7 per cent lower than in Hong Kong, compared with a 15 per cent gap last year.
'While such increases are unlikely to deter companies from relocating staff to Singapore, the cost of doing so is now higher than it was a year ago,' said Mr Lee Quane, regional director of Asia for ECA International.
He said the stronger Singdollar, coupled with the fact that inflation here has been slightly higher than in some other Asian cities, means that companies have to pay their expat workers higher cost-of-living allowances.
The same applies to Japanese cities, which maintained their top spots in the Asia ranking as the yen soared against the greenback. South Korean locations also surged up the ranks, with Seoul jumping four places to seventh this year, after the won regained some of its lost value.
Expats in Singapore said yesterday that they feel the cost of living has gone up.
'In terms of personal costs, day-to-day expenses have definitely increased,' said Mr Trevor Gawne, who is from Australia and based here as managing director of Fuchs Lubricants.
He said the prices of raw food in particular, such as eggs and fresh milk, have gone up quite considerably in the past 12 months, especially if they are imported from countries like New Zealand and Australia, which have seen their currencies strengthen against the Singdollar.
But while rising costs are a concern, a bigger worry is the volatility of costs, said Mr Phillip Overmyer, an American and the chief executive of the Singapore International Chamber of Commerce.
'What I think is a bigger concern at the corporate level is the high fluctuation we are seeing in Singapore costs in general,' he said.
'Housing rentals, office rentals and the prices of general goods and services have been swinging back and forth a lot over the last couple of years.'
This is worrying for companies because they cannot predict costs and plan accordingly, and it hurts Singapore's competitiveness, he said.
Ms Laura Deal, executive director of the American Chamber of Commerce in Singapore, agreed that the extreme swings in costs 'can really destroy budgets and cause pain for small companies'.
'You can get caught in a really bad housing or office lease if you sign at the wrong time, and end up paying 30 per cent more than your neighbour,' she said. 'We think it is important for the Government to control the volatility of costs a little bit more.'
ECA International's survey calculated the cost of living around the world based on a basket of day-to-day goods and services. The survey is done twice a year, but comparisons are made year-on-year to strip out seasonal differences.
In March, Singapore was 10th in the Asia rankings.
In the global rankings, Angola's capital Luanda took top spot as the city with the highest cost of living in the world - many regularly used items are expensive to obtain in the city due to the country's war-damaged infrastructure.
Other cities placed in the global top 10 included Tokyo, Yokohama, Oslo and Copenhagen.
Expats find Singapore a tad more expensive
Singapore moves up 3 spots to 9th position in Asia: survey
Joyce Hooi, Business Times 3 Dec 09;
(SINGAPORE) IT is not all cheap hawker food and iPods for expatriates who are based in Singapore.
The latest Cost of Living survey from ECA International has given expatriates here a stronger case to make when lobbying company headquarters for a larger expense package.
This year, Singapore climbed three spots - from 12th - to be the ninth most expensive Asian city, having been on the receiving end of both rising inflation and a strengthening Singapore dollar.
This makes Singapore a more expensive city to live in than Taipei, Shenzhen or Guangzhou.
Japanese cities dominated this year's rankings in Asia, with Tokyo ranking first, followed by Yokohama, Nagoya and Kobe.
While Hong Kong remain more expensive than Singapore at fifth place, the gap in the cost of living has narrowed, from 15 per cent last year to 7 per cent this year.
'While such increases are unlikely to deter companies from relocating staff to Singapore, the cost of doing do is now higher than it was a year ago,' said Lee Quane, regional director of ECA International for Asia.
'Companies employing international assignees are likely to be paying higher cost of living allowances to ensure that their employees continue to maintain their purchasing power while on assignment.'
Singapore's cost of living is put into better context from a global perspective, with the island ranking only 78th this year. Even so, this represents a quantum leap in rankings, from its 97th position last year.
Globally, Luanda in Angola remained the most expensive city, with Tokyo and Oslo in second and third place respectively.
ECA International's Cost of Living survey is carried out twice a year, comparing a basket of consumer goods and services commonly purchased by assignees in over 390 places globally.
While the survey includes items like food, clothing and motoring expenses, it does not take into account other living costs like accommodation, utilities, car purchases and school fees.
These expenses tend to make the expatriate bill significantly larger but are often compensated for in separate expatriate packages, according to ECA International.
Singapore now among 10 most expensive Asian cities
Yasmine Yahya, 938 LIVE Channel NewsAsia 2 Dec 09;
SINGAPORE: Singapore is now one of the top 10 most expensive Asian cities for expatriates to live in due to the strengthening of the Singdollar.
A survey by human resource consultancy ECA International showed that Singapore now has the ninth highest cost of living in the region.
Last year, the city-state was in the twelfth place.
ECA International said the cost of living for visitors to Singapore is also catching up with that of its neighbours.
A year ago, living costs in Singapore were about 15 per cent lower than in Hong Kong. Now, the difference is just seven per cent.
ECA International's Regional Director for Asia, Lee Quane, said the increase in living cost is unlikely to deter firms from relocating their staff here.
Tokyo maintained its position as the most expensive location for expatriates to live in, as the stronger yen outweighed the impact of deflation in Japan.
- 938LIVE/yb
