Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bharu, George Town among cheapest Asian cities for expatriates

KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur, Johor Bharu and George Town are among the cheapest cities in Asia for expatriates to live in, according to a global survey of 262 cities.

The ECA International’s biannual study showed that 26 of the top 50 most expensive cities this year were from Asia, including 14 cities from China, as compared to four from the European Union (EU) and three from the United States (US).

Lee Quane, ECA International’s regional director for Asia, noted the curiosity for many companies that move their employees within Asia.

“Asia is home to some of the world’s most expensive locations as well its cheapest. This level of variety is only matched in Africa which is home to both the world’s most expensive location and its cheapest,” Quane said in a statement yesterday on ECA International’s results from its latest survey in September.

“Although Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, claims the status as Asia’s cheapest location, it is closely followed by locations in Malaysia — with Kuala Lumpur down to 213th in the global rankings,” ECA International said.

“Ulaanbaatar is joined by Johor Baru, George Town (Penang), Yangon and Karachi in making up the cheapest locations in Asia, with all these locations falling in our global rankings over the past 12 months,” it said.

The statement did not state the global rank based on living costs for Malaysia’s Johor Baru or George Town, or explain why these two cities were among the cheapest regionally to live in.

ECA International said Asian cities such as Singapore and those in Japan had fallen in the global ranking on living costs, owing to their relatively weaker currencies.