ANN/THE STAR – Thailand’s Bangkok has been ranked the third most expensive city in Southeast Asia for international workers, according to business adviser Mercer. This year’s ranking surveyed 226 cities across five continents, evaluating the comparative costs of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
Singapore topped the costliest cities in the region, followed by Cambodia’s capital Phnom Penh, Bangkok, Philippines’ Manila, Indonesia’s Jakarta, Vietnam’s Hanoi, Brunei Darussalam’s Bandar Seri Begawan, Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur and Laos’ Vientiane. However, Thailand’s capital was ranked 129th among the world’s most expensive cities, dropping 24 places from last year. The top three costliest cities for international workers remained unchanged: Hong Kong, Singapore and Zurich.
In addition to Hong Kong and Singapore, the other most expensive cities in Asia included Shanghai (23), Beijing (25) and Seoul (32).
Mercer pointed out that there were many economic factors that triggered an impact on the cost of living in major cities. Inflation and exchange-rate fluctuations are directly affecting the pay and savings of internationally mobile employees, the company said. It added that heightened economic and geopolitical volatility, as well as local conflicts and emergencies, have led to additional expenses in such areas as housing, utilities, local taxes and education.
“The cost-of-living crisis has already had a significant impact on the mobile talent employed by multinational organisations,” the company said. “For businesses, this has made it more difficult to attract and retain top talent. It has also increased the costs of compensation and benefits, limited talent mobility options and raised general operational costs.”
