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July 23, 2008 16:43 IST
Strengthening rupee and growing aspirational demand has made four Indian cities -- Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai -- increasingly expensive for expatriates to live in, a latest global survey says.
Moscow has emerged as the world's most expensive city for expatriates for the third consecutive year, according to the survey conducted by global consulting firm Mercer. It is followed by Tokyo, London, Oslo and Seoul, the top five cities in the 'Worlwide Cost of Living 2008' survey.
All cities in India rose in the cost of living ranking due to strengthening of the rupee against the US dollar, with Mumbai moving to 48th place in the March survey this year, compared to 52nd position in the same period last year, while the national capital New Delhi climbed to the 55th place from 68th a year ago.
Chennai and Bangalore also improved their positions to 117 and 118 ranks, respectively in the survey which comprised of 143 cities globally. Last year, Chennai had been ranked at the 133rd position, while Bangalore was at the 134th place, the survey revealed.
"Delhi, Bangalore and Chennai are racing up the ladder from a cost of living perspective, having moved up over 12 ranks from Mercer's last survey conducted six months ago," Mercer's business leader for Information Product Solutions India Gangapriya Chakraverti said.
"A strengthening rupee and growing but unfulfilled demand for expatriate-style housing are factors that have contributed significantly to the changes in the ranking of Indian cities," Chakraverti added. Overall, the Indian cities are moving up as the aspirational demand and resulting cost of consumer goods increases.
Mercer's survey covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.
It is a comprehensive cost of living survey and is used to help multinational companies and governments determine cost of living allowances for their expatriate employees.
Although the traditionally expensive cities of Western Europe and Asia still feature in the top 20, cities in Eastern Europe, Brazil and India are creeping up the list, while some locations such as Stockholm and New York now appear less costly by comparison, the survey revealed.
In the Asian region, Tokyo has emerged as the costliest city (2nd rank) followed by Seoul (5th) and Hong Kong at 6th rank. However, Pakistani city Karachi continues to be the least costly city in this region holding the 141th place in the global ranking.
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