Luanda overtakes HK as costliest city for expats
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ANGOLA’S capital, Luanda, has overtaken Hong Kong to become the costliest city in the world for expats, Mercer’s annual survey said yesterday.
Dethroned last year by the Chinese city, Luanda regained the dubious honor despite the depreciation of the kwanza currency against the US dollar, the survey by the Mercer consulting group found.
While Hong Kong is dropped back to second place, it remains the most expensive Asian city “because of its currency’s link to the dollar, a factor which makes local housing more expensive,” the report said.
After topping the Cost of Living report for three consecutive years, Luanda was pipped by the Asian city in 2016, owing to a stronger Hong Kong dollar.
This year, Tokyo completes the top three, moving up from fifth last year because of the yen’s appreciation and “the dynamism of the housing market.”
The survey compares the cost of more than 200 items in more than 200 cities, including housing, food, transport and entertainment.
It takes New York (in ninth place this year) as its base for comparison and measures currency movements against the dollar.
The study is closely followed by governments and international businesses which take the rankings into account when they calculate the costs of sending their employees abroad.
Some Russian cities leapt up the table in the new survey, with Moscow reaching 14th place from 53rd last year and Saint Petersburg leaping to 36 from 116 “under the twin effects of the rise in the ruble and the cost of goods and services.”
Main cities in Australia, Brazil and India also marched up the list.
Many European cities dropped — particularly in Britain. Paris, Vienna and Rome also became less expensive for expats. The cheapest cities were Skopje, Bishkek and Tunis.
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