In the 2011 Cost of Living Survey conducted by ECA International, a British manpower resource distribution solution supplier, Taipei`s global ranking was 66th, compared with 87th last year.
Meanwhile, Kaohsiung, the largest city in southern Taiwan, jumped from 114th to 97th in the global ranking and moved up one place to the 14th most expensive city in Asia.
Lee Quane, ECA International`s regional director who is based in Hong Kong, attributed the higher rankings to the appreciation of the Taiwan dollar over the past year.
The currency`s value against the U.S. dollar has increased by about 10 percent. As a result, the cost to overseas companies sending their employees to work in Taiwan has grown notably, he said.
According to ECA, goods and services in Taipei were almost 10 percent cheaper than in Shanghai, China in 2010, but the gap has shrunk to 4 percent this year.
In the survey, Shanghai was ranked the ninth most expensive city in Asia and the 47th in the world, while Beijing was eighth in Asia and 46th globally.
Hong Kong`s ranking fell one place to seventh in Asia and also dropped globally, from 33th to 45th.
Despite a long period of inflation, a weakening Hong Kong dollar offset that problem, Quane said.
ECA International`s cost of living indices are calculated based on surveys carried out annually in March and September using a basket of day-to-day goods and services, such as food, clothing and electrical goods.
Certain living costs such as accommodation, utilities, car purchase and school fees are not included in the survey because they can make a significant difference to expenses and are usually covered by enterprises.
The 2011 report showed that Tokyo remained the most expensive city both in Asia and globally for international residents.
Although Japan was the only Asian country in which the actual cost of goods in the ECA basket of goods had fallen, a strong currency and already high costs of goods meant that the cost of living for assignees was significantly higher than other locations listed in the top 10, ECA said.
Singapore rose from ninth to sixth in Asia and from 68th to 36th globally, recording the largest jump among Asian cities.
The top 5 cities in the Asian rankings were Tokyo, Nagoya, Yokohama, Kobe in Japan, and Seoul in South Korea.
(A045/C/H-AK/H-AK) (*)
Editor: Ella Syafputri
Copyright © ANTARA 2011
