Tokyo and Hong Kong rank as the world's most expensive cities, according to a new survey published here today which awards eight of the top 10 slots to Asian cities. Tokyo still leads the pack, despite a lower score due to cost-of-living drops and the weaker yen, said the annual survey of 145 cities by the Geneva-based Corporate Resources Group. Housing was most expensive in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Moscow and Shanghai.
According to the survey, Moscow is nearly three times as expensive as Madras in India and South Africa's business capital Johannesburg, the cheapest of the 145 major cities examined.
The information is geared to international firms and governments which have staff working overseas, said CRG, which bills itself as the largest non-US organisation among four firms which conduct such yearly surveys.
London showed the highest jump in European rankings, moving up 14 places from a year ago to become the 14th most costly city in the world, the survey said.
A strong dollar and high housing costs catapulted Hong Kong to second place from fifth last year, displacing Osaka which fell into fourth place. Moscow remained Europe's priciest city, but jumped globally to third place from sixth last year.
Shanghai moved from fourth to sixth place, followed by Seoul, Singapore, Guangzhou and St Petersburg. Shenzhen dropped a notch to 11th place while Taipei climbed five to 12th place. The study, conducted in the first week of March, measures the relative cost of over 200 goods and services from food and clothing to leisure and entertainment. Local prices for each product were converted into US dollars for comparative purposes.
In south-east Asia, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Manila registered gains with the Philippine capital shifting up most dramatically to 45th place from 79th.
Geneva and Zurich tumbled out of the top ten to settle at 22nd and 23rd place respectively as Europe's urban centres overall became comparatively more affordable. Paris, for instance, rated 29th compared to 16th in 1996 and Vienna 27th against 15th.
The notable exception in the European trend was London which leapt to the number 14th from 28th.
American cities remain among the most "affordable" in the world due to low inflation and lack of exchange rate variation, according to the survey. New York was the only US city to rank among the top 50, moving to 31st place from 38th.
Dar Es Salaam, at 19th place, features as Africa's costliest city followed by Cairo, placed 30th.
The African cities of Brazzaville, Libreville, Douala, Abidjan and Dakar slumped due to their links with the French franc, while Johannesburg's faltering rand cast it at 144th, second from the bottom. Cheapest of the lot is the southern Indian city of Madras.