Bangkok more affordable in global survey on cost of living

BANGKOK: -- You may not have noticed but Bangkok has become a little cheaper to live in during the past year compared with the other top cities in the world. The new global cost of living survey by Mercer Human Resource Consulting ranks the Thai capital as the 125th most expensive, down from 119th in the 2004 survey.

The survey index places New York City at 100, then ranks the rest. As usual, Tokyo ranks as the most expensive city with a score of 134.7, followed by Osaka, London, Moscow and Seoul. Bangkok received a score of 65.3. If you merely want really cheap, head for Paraguay, where costs in the capital city, Asuncion, add up to just a 40.3 rating.

The survey tracks the comparative cost of about 200 items in each city, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. For example, at today's exchange rate, the survey found a cup of coffee plus service cost 156 baht in Tokyo, 140 baht in New York and 134 baht in London.

Yvonne Sonsino, a partner at Mercer, said currency fluctuations and exchange rates had a huge potential impact on salaries for expatriates.

''The challenge for multinational companies is to ensure their expatriate compensation packages remain fair and attractive enough to retain key employees, while making sure they do not pay over the odds and find themselves at a competitive disadvantage,'' she said.

The gap in costs between traditional ''low-cost countries'' appeared to be closing, and ''local salaries are shooting up as a result of higher living expenses and an increased demand for skills''.

''Companies need to keep pace with the changes, and we find that many are now seeking guidance as they make regular review of their expatriate compensation packages a standard procedure,'' she said.

London was the most expensive city in Europe in the survey, with a score of 120.3, in part because of high accommodation and transport costs, plus the appreciation of the pound against the US dollar. Ranked second in Europe was Moscow, followed by Geneva and Zurich.

The Mercer survey showed that costs in Central and Eastern Europe have risen steadily. Warsaw, Prague and Bratislava all gained over 10 places in this year's survey. In the Americas, New York remained the most expensive city, at 13th. Los Angeles was 44th in the global ranking, followed by San Francisco at 50th and Chicago at 52nd.

--Bangkok Post 2005-06-22

"Bangkok has become a little cheaper to live in during the past year"

a little cheaper than Paraguay.