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LONDON - Singapore has entered the top 10 list of Mercer's 2011 cost of living survey, moving up two spots to be ranked the 8th most expensive city for expatriates. Angola's capital, Luanda, has retained the unenviable title of the world's most expensive city for expatriates, narrowly edging out Tokyo, according to the survey published on Tuesday.
At the other end of the scale, the Mercer group's study named the Pakistani port Karachi as the least expensive city, with living around three times cheaper than in Luanda.
New entries in the top 10 list of the costliest cities in the world for expatriates are Singapore (8), up from 11, and Sao Paolo (10), which has jumped 11 places since the 2010 ranking.
The most expensive city in Asia is Tokyo (2), followed by Osaka (6). Singapore (8) has joined the list of the world's top 10 most expensive cities in the world due to the strengthening of the Singapore Dollar and the substantial increase in housing costs.
It is followed by Hong Kong (9) whose ranking dropped by one position due to the devaluation of the Hong Kong Dollar which is pegged to the US Dollar, even though there was considerable increase in housing costs.
During the past year, the US Dollar has devalued against most Asian currencies. In particular, the Singapore Dollar and Australian Dollar appreciated considerably, not only against the US Dollar, but against other currencies such as the Euro and British Pound.
