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Singapore is the most liveable city in the world for Asian expatriates.
Tue, Apr 17, 2012
Reuters
SINGAPORE – Singapore is the most liveable city in the world for Asian expatriates, ranking well ahead of regional rival Hong Kong where the air quality is now among the worst in the world, human resources consultancy ECA International said on Tuesday.
“Air pollution remains a major issue (in Hong Kong),” Lee Quane, ECA’s regional director for Asia, said in a statement.
“It has the third worst score for this of any Asian city after Beijing and New Delhi, and is up among some of the worst locations in the world for air quality including Santiago, Mexico City and Cairo.”
ECA ranked Singapore as the top destination globally for Asian expatriates in 2012, unchanged from a year ago, with Sydney coming in at number two for the second year running.
Other Australian cities dominated the rankings, with Adelaide and Brisbane tied for third, Perth in sixth and Canberra in seventh.
Hong Kong ranked 11th, up from 14th in the previous survey, as Tokyo and Yokohama’s infrastructure have suffered from the devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit parts of Japan last year.
Quane, who is based in Hong Kong, told Reuters that while Singapore has overtaken the former British territory in terms of the cost of living, the higher expenses may not be borne by employers.
“Companies are less likely to provide location allowances to attract people to accept a posting in Singapore,” he said.