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Living in China: Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong among most expensive cities in Asia

Ranking behind four cities – Tokyo, Nagoya, Yokohama and Kobe – Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong have become some of the most expensive cities in Asia, according to the latest survey conducted by internationally renowned human resources service provider ECA International.

Ranking behind four cities – Tokyo, Nagoya, Yokohama and KobeBeijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong have become some of the most expensive cities in Asia, according to the latest survey conducted by internationally renowned human resources service provider ECA International.

The survey also revealed that the cost of living for expatriates of multinational companies in Asian cities has significantly increased. This is due to factors such as the impact of the economic recession on both Europe and the US, and the continued strength of currencies in Asian countries.

The rankings of Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong according to cost of living have dramatically soared to 26, 28 and 29 in the world respectively, up from 104, 111 and 98 in the world.

ECA’s survey on the cost of living in cities across the world compared a basket of consumer items (a total of 125 items) and services consumed by expatriates working in over 370 locations globally, including daily food products such as grains and oil, dairy products, meat, fish and fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as items that meet the general needs of expatriates such as drinks, tobacco, clothing, electronic products, cars and dining out, according to a report by Hong Kong-based Wen Wei Po.

By Itamar Medeiros

Originally from Brazil, Itamar Medeiros currently lives in Germany, where he works as VP of Design Strategy at SAP, where he leads the design vision for the entire Human Capital Management product line, ensuring cohesive product narratives and establishing best practices.

Working in the Information Technology industry since 1998, Itamar has helped truly global companies in multiple continents create great user experience through advocating Design and Innovation principles. Itamar has also served as a juror for prestigious design competitions and lectured on design topics at universities worldwide.

During his 7 years in China, he promoted the User Experience Design discipline as User Experience Manager at Autodesk and Local Coordinator of the Interaction Design Association (IxDA) in Shanghai.

Itamar holds a MA in Design Practice from Northumbria University (Newcastle, UK), for which he received a Distinction Award for his thesis Creating Innovative Design Software Solutions within Collaborative/Distributed Design Environments.

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