HK still priciest for expats

Hong Kong retains its place atop the rankings for a third straight year as the world's most expensive city for expats, according to the latest Mercer annual report.

The consultancy found Hong Kong, with its sky-high housing costs, was still ahead of 208 other cities while Asia provided six of the top 10 - Turkmenistan's capital Ashgabat notably edging Tokyo out of second spot.

Sixth-placed New York, up three places, was the only US entrant to make it into a top 10 Swiss cities Zurich (fourth), Bern (eighth)and Geneva (ninth). Singapore fell from third to fifth, Shanghai ranked seventh, with Beijing at No 10.

Mercer France head of mobility Jean-Philippe Sarra said the survey was based on the cost of living in February going into March, when "most countries had not yet been affected by the [Covid-19] crisis."

He noted a smaller sample of date taken in April did not show the virus as having a discernible impact but added that future consequences for expatriates could not be ruled out.

In Europe, London rose four places to 19th but Paris slid from 47th to 50th