【英语生活】新加坡与香港 生活成本试比高

In the continuing rivalry between Singapore and Hong Kong, Singapore has scored the latest triumph.

But this is a victory the city-state might not care to gloat about: It's now more expensive for an expatriate to live in Singapore than in Hong Kong, according to a survey by consulting firm Mercer that compared the cost of living in cities around the world.

Singapore moved up three places in the rankings to become the eighth-costliest city in the world, surpassing Hong Kong, which was pushed down one place to ninth. It's the first time Singapore has ranked ahead of Hong Kong since Mercer started its annual Worldwide Cost of Living survey in 1994.

The survey calculates the cost of living for skilled expats in 214 cities world-wide, taking into account more than 200 items, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. The survey is designed to help multinational companies and governments decide on proper compensation allowances for employees stationed overseas.

Singapore's rise through the ranks can be partly attributed to higher rents: Housing costs there increased 23% last year.

But Singapore's currency was what affected the ranking the most. The survey calculated the cost of living in U.S. dollars, and the Singapore dollar has surged 10% against the U.S. dollar over the past year. The Hong Kong dollar, by contrast, is pegged to the U.S. dollar, and so remained constant.

'Both Hong Kong and Singapore did have increased housing costs,' said Phil Stanley, a principal at Mercer. 'My guess is if the Hong Kong dollar wasn't linked to the U.S. dollar, it would still be ranked higher than Singapore.'

Higher rents in many Asian cities also contributed to the high cost of living on the continent. Four of the 10 least-affordable cities in the world for expats are in Asia, and they're proving to be far more expensive than the traditional financial capitals of the West (New York was No. 32 on the list and London came in 18th). But for those looking to pinch pennies, Asia was also home to the most-affordable city of the 214: Karachi, Pakistan, ranked dead last.

Despite the earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan in March, Tokyo continues to be the most expensive city in Asia and the second-most expensive world-wide.

'Prices for accommodations and goods and services remained relatively stable in spite of these disasters,' explained Mr. Stanley. 'However, the yen did appreciate against the U.S. dollar by approximately 8% during this survey period, which caused these locations to maintain their rankings.'

Other Japanese cities were pricey as well: Osaka ranked sixth overall and Nagoya 11th.

Australian cities, including Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, surged ahead on the list. The Wall Street Journal's Geoffrey Rogow explored the reasons behind Australia's increased cost of living, citing the country's mining industry boom and the Australian dollar's appreciation against the U.S. dollar.

And the only city to outprice Tokyo? Luanda, the capital of Angola. Mercer consultants said the city's top ranking is due to the extreme cost of secure high-end rental accommodations there.

Alexandra Wexler

在新加坡和香港持续不断的较量中，新加坡赢得了最新的胜利。

Getty Images美世咨询公司对全球城市生活成本进行的比较显示，对外派人员来说，新加坡的生活成本要高于香港。不过，城市国家新加坡或许并不愿意为这个胜利而沾沾自喜：美世咨询公司(Mercer)进行的一项调查对全球主要城市生活成本进行了比较，调查显示，如今对外派人员来说，新加坡的生活成本要高于香港。

新加坡排名上升三位，是全球生活成本第八高的城市，超过了香港，香港排名下滑一位至第九位。这是自1994年美世开始年度全球生活成本调查以来，新加坡排名首次超过香港。

调查计算了全球214个城市熟练外派人员的生活成本，涵盖了200多项，包括衣、食、住、行、日用品和娱乐。调查旨在帮助跨国公司和政府决定给派驻海外的员工多少薪酬津贴是合适的。

新加坡排名的上升可以部分归因于房租的上涨：去年住房成本上涨了23%。

不过，新加坡元才是对排名影响最大的因素。调查计算了按美元计算的生活成本，而过去一年新加坡元兑美元升值10%。与此相反，港元与美元挂钩，所以汇率保持不变。

美世的一位负责人斯坦利(Phil Stanley)说，香港和新加坡的住房成本都上升了。我猜测，若不是港元与美元挂钩，香港的排名仍会比新加坡高。

很多亚洲城市较高的房租也造成亚洲的高生活成本。对外派人员来说，最贵的10个城市有四个在亚洲，它们的生活成本远高于西方传统金融中心（纽约排在第32位，伦敦排在第18位）。不过，对于那些想省钱的人来说，亚洲也是214个城市中最便宜的城市所在地：巴基斯坦的卡拉奇无可置疑地排在最后一位。

尽管3月份日本受到地震和海啸的袭击，东京仍是亚洲最昂贵的城市，也是全球第二昂贵的城市。

斯坦利解释说，尽管发生了这些灾难，食宿、商品和服务的价格依然相对稳定。不过，在调查的时间段内，日圆兑美元升值了约8%，成为日本城市保持排名的因素。

其他日本城市也很昂贵：大阪排在第六，名古屋排在第11。

包括悉尼、墨尔本和佩思在内的澳大利亚城市排名上升。《华尔街日报》的Geoffrey Rogow探讨了澳大利亚生活成本上升的原因，认为这是由于澳大利亚采矿业的飞速发展和澳元兑美元升值。

唯一比东京还要昂贵的城市是哪个？安哥拉首都罗安达。美世的顾问说，罗安达排在第一，是因为那里的高档出租房的房租高得吓人。

Alexandra Wexler

（本文版权归道琼斯公司所有，未经许可不得翻译或转载。）