Singapore hailed as Asia’s most expensive city for expats

And strengthening SGD is not helping.

Singapore is the most expensive city in Asia for expatriates, according to a study by the Asian Competitiveness Institute (ACI).  It’s ranked fourth globally, reflecting a rise from the preceding year’s seventh place. The index is led this year by Caracas, New York, and Zurich, which are first to third, respectively.

The study is accomplished annually by ACI, and it looks at cost of living, wages, and purchasing power for expatriates and residents across 103 major cities across the globe. The results are based on 2013 data, the latest available at the time the study was conducted.

The study asserted that as SGD appreciates against USD, expatriates will feel an income effect, the nature of which depends largely on their remuneration arrangements.

“If the expatriate is paid in his home currency, or in US dollar, the value of his income in terms of Singapore dollar will decrease. He therefore has less income for consumption. If the expatriate is paid in Singapore dollar, a strong Singapore dollar will lessen any burden of remittances which he may have, making more income available for consumption,” stated the study.

Meanwhile, ordinary residents can breathe easy as their costs of living was ranked the same as the preceding year. Singapore is still the 48th most expensive city to live in, but it’s also the 48th in awarding wages. Moreover, purchasing power for ordinary residents is ranked as 21st in the world.