www射-国产免费一级-欧美福利-亚洲成人福利-成人一区在线观看-亚州成人

Global EditionASIA 中文雙語Fran?ais
Opinion
Home / Opinion / Op-Ed Contributors

Living in China cheaper as Asian cities get pricier

By Yue Su | China Daily | Updated: 2017-05-08 07:38
Share
Share - WeChat

Visitors view light installations at "Love in Springtime" light exhibition in Singapore's Sentosa island, Jan 25, 2017. The "Love in Springtime" exhibition is held from Jan 21 to Feb 26 to celebrate Chinese Lunar New Year.[Photo/Xinhua]

The cost of living in Asian cities generally increased last year, with Singapore remaining at the top for the fourth consecutive year. But exchange rate volatility and resurgent commodity prices, rather than productivity gains, were responsible for the increase.

Asia remains the most diverse region in terms of the cost of living. Ironically, with several major agricultural and manufacturing product exporters, East Asian cities tend to be the world's priciest places for tradable products, such as general grocery and clothing.

Asian cities continue to climb up the world cost of living ladder, accounting for half of the 10 most expensive cities in the latest Worldwide Cost of Living Survey from The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Exchange rate volatility was the major factor that determined the cost of living in cities. With the strength of the US dollar moderating and the euro remaining relatively stable, currencies such as the Australian dollar and the New Zealand dollar have gained in value, ending up with higher relative cost. Underpinned by a stronger yen, Tokyo and Osaka have returned to the 10 most expensive cities' list, by climbing up seven and nine places. And Seoul, supported by currency and income growth, has moved up two places to the 6th spot.

The steady depreciation of the yuan and weaker consumer sentiment have dragged down living costs in China. Five Chinese mainland cities-Beijing, Suzhou, Guangzhou, Tianjin and Dalian-are among the biggest movers down the ranking ladder in the past year. Shanghai remains the most expensive city in the Chinese mainland, though its relative costs are lower. The city is 8 percent cheaper than New York City now compared with just 3 percent 12 months ago. The city used to be as expensive as Tokyo, but is now cheaper than not only Tokyo and Osaka but also Sydney and Melbourne.

Asian cities' rankings are characterized by extremes, the most expensive and the cheapest. Singapore and Hong Kong continue to be the most and second-most expensive cities, while cities such as Colombo, Kathmandu, New Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Karachi and Bangalore represent the best value for money in Asia and are among the 30 cheapest in the world because of lower incomes and closer links to domestic agriculture and manufacturing supply chains.

A closer look at the most expensive cities shows Asian cities tend to form the priciest locations for tradable goods, such as grocery and daily necessities. Yet they offer non-tradable goods at much lower prices than European cities. This perhaps reflects a greater premium on discretionary spending for better quality products, such as organic food, branded clothes and advanced electronic products, in high-income cities such as Hong Kong and Tokyo. The grocery products many Asian countries, such as China and Malaysia, export often do not match the demand for wealthier Asian countries' premium consumption.

Government subsidy is another important factor that decides Asian cities' ranks. Grocery prices in cities in Japan and the Republic of Korea, for instance, are among the highest in the world.

In Seoul, topping up a grocery basket is almost 50 percent more expensive than in New York City. The average price of a 1-kilogram loaf of bread in Seoul is 140 percent more than in New Delhi, and much higher than in China, Malaysia, New Zealand, which export agricultural products. Due to limited domestic arable land, the ROK relies on imports of agricultural products, but with high tariffs to protect its domestic agricultural industry, it ends up with very high grocery prices. In India, one sees the opposite trend. To reduce hunger, India provides subsidies for staple foods and other agricultural products, lowering the cost of foods.

In the long run, this divergence is likely to persist and Asian cities are expected to become relatively more expensive as emerging economies continue to supply much of the world's wage and demand growth. But the capacity for economic shocks and currency swings could make the ride quite bumpy.

The author is an economist with The Economist Intelligence Unit.

Most Viewed in 24 Hours
Top
BACK TO THE TOP
English
Copyright 1995 - . All rights reserved. The content (including but not limited to text, photo, multimedia information, etc) published in this site belongs to China Daily Information Co (CDIC). Without written authorization from CDIC, such content shall not be republished or used in any form. Note: Browsers with 1024*768 or higher resolution are suggested for this site.
License for publishing multimedia online 0108263

Registration Number: 130349
FOLLOW US
主站蜘蛛池模板: 国产草草影院ccyycom软件 | 日本久久伊人 | 久久精品国产免费中文 | 亚洲人成影院午夜网站 | 久久曰视频| 国产理论视频在线观看 | 欧美日本免费观看αv片 | 一级毛片在线免费视频 | 精品午夜国产在线观看不卡 | 欧美视频一区二区三区 | 色视频在线观看免费 | 国产精品日本一区二区在线播放 | 久久久久欧美精品网站 | 亚洲精品www久久久久久久软件 | 欧美性视频一区二区三区 | 亚洲va精品中文字幕动漫 | 乱子伦xxxx | 美女一级视频 | 成人免费观看网欧美片 | 岛国大片在线播放免费 | 97久久国语露脸精品对白 | 在线看片一区 | 在线免费看一级片 | 一区二区成人国产精品 | 一级毛片免费不卡在线视频 | 国产精品专区第二 | 国产午夜免费不卡精品理论片 | 激情宗合| 一级毛片成人免费看免费不卡 | 久久99精品久久久久久久野外 | 精品午夜国产在线观看不卡 | 在线综合+亚洲+欧美中文字幕 | 亚洲黄区 | 正在播放国产精品 | 亚洲国产成人久久笫一页 | 日韩美女视频一区 | 欧美国产成人免费观看永久视频 | 久久久久久综合成人精品 | 国产一区二区在线 |播放 | 国产高清在线 | 特级淫片国产免费高清视频 |