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2015-6-19 00:51
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Tokyo is on the wane. After holding the dubious title of the world’s most expensive city for expats for much of the past two decades, Japan’s biggest metropolis no longer even makes the top 10.
At least those are the findings of the annual cost of living survey by consultants Mercer. The reason behind its demise — Tokyo slid from seventh to 11th spot after occupying third spot in 2013 rankings — was the weakness of the yen against the US dollar over the past year. Indeed, exchange rate fluctuations have played havoc with the 2015 rankings, which are now in their 21st year. “Currency movements will always play a really big part in the rankings but the impact this year has been particularly acute,” said Kate Fitzpatrick, a consultant at Mercer. Both the yen and the euro have weakened markedly against the US dollar and Chinese renminbi, while the Swiss franc has also strengthened after the surprise lifting of its currency cap at the start of the year. As a result, Zurich and Geneva have both moved up one place to occupy two of the five top spots in the rankings. Bern slid one place to ninth but only because of a strong showing from Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul. The survey compares a basket of over 200 goods and services, from imported food staples and the cost of hamburger to the price of a cinema ticket, and combines it with the cost of renting international standard accommodation. The biggest faller in the top 10 was Moscow, which plunged from ninth to 50th, as the result of the sharp fall in the rouble following the imposition of tighter economic sanctions. N’Djamena, the largest city in Chad, where the CFA franc is pegged to the euro, dropped from second to 10th place. It is the scarcity of many of those items sampled, along with chart-topping accommodation costs, that means Luanda retains first place. A pair of jeans in the Angolan capital will set you back $247.53, more than four times the cost of the same item in New York. The Mercer survey uses New York as its base city to compile the rankings, so the relative strength of the US currency has a big impact on the league table. US cities in the rankings have risen by an average of 36 places. New York remains the most expensive US city, unchanged in 16th place, followed by Los Angeles, which jumped to 36th from 62nd. Similarly, the strength of the renminbi saw China’s cities rise on average by 18 places. The rankings are designed to help multinationals and governments determine at what level to set foreign posting allowances for their employees. London, which retains its 12th spot in the rankings, largely because of rising rents, looks like a better bet for a cup of coffee, at $3.83, compared with Hong Kong, where it will set you back $7.80. The former British colony boasts the highest rents outside Luanda. 东京正在走下坡路。过去20年的很大一部分时间里，东京都拥有外侨眼中全球生活成本最高城市的“殊荣”。如今，这座日本最大的都市甚至未能跻身前十名。
至少，这是咨询公司美世(Mercer)在其生活成本年度调查中得出的结论。东京从第七名滑落至第11名，而2013年这座城市还曾占据第三名的位置。东京排名下滑背后的原因是，过去一年里日元相对美元走软。 事实上，汇率波动让2015年排行榜的座次发生了很大变化。今年是美世第21年发布这一排行榜。 美世咨询师凯特?菲茨帕特里克(Kate Fitzpatrick)表示：“汇率波动总是会对排名产生很大影响，但今年它的影响格外突出。” 日元和欧元相对美元和人民币都已大幅走软。此外，今年初瑞士出人意料取消汇率上限后，瑞士法郎的汇率也已走强。 因此，苏黎世和日内瓦双双上升一位，在前五名中占据两席。瑞士首都伯尔尼下滑一位至第九名，但这完全是因为上海、北京和首尔的表现太过抢眼。 ? 这次调查对一篮子逾200种商品和服务的价格做了比较，并考虑了国际标准居所的租金成本。这一篮子商品和服务包括进口主食、汉堡包和电影票等等。 安哥拉首都罗安达依然在榜单上占据首位的原因是，上述样本中的许多商品在该市很难买到，而且该市的居住成本也高居榜首。在罗安达，一条牛仔裤要247.53美元，是纽约同类商品价格的4倍以上。 美世的调查在编制排行榜时把纽约作为基准城市。出于这个原因，一国货币相对美元是走强还是走软会对排名产生很大影响。 在这份榜单上，美国城市平均上升了36位。纽约排名未变，仍是第16名，也仍是生活成本最高的美国城市。紧随其后的是洛杉矶，排名从第62位跃升至第36位。 与此类似，人民币走强也导致中国城市平均上升了18位。 该排名旨在帮助跨国公司和各国政府确定其雇员的驻外津贴水平。 伦敦在该排行榜上依然居第12位，这在很大程度上归结于其不断上涨的房租。不过，看起来在伦敦买杯咖啡比在香港要划算些，伦敦的一杯咖啡要3.83美元，香港则要7.80美元。此外，香港的房租还是除罗安达以外最贵的。 译者/简易 |