Column : Global business and a cup of coffee

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: Do you think your morning commute is expensive? Think again. A ride on a bus or subway in Tokyo costs $3.25. And if you grab a newspaper and a cup of coffee on the way the total comes to about $11.70. That’s more than anywhere else in the world; even in New York the same things cost about 25% less. Tokyo is the world’s most expensive city for expatriates with the cost of living up by 13.1% from 2008, according to the latest survey conducted by the global consulting firm Mercer. Japan’s capital is followed by Osaka and Moscow, which held the top position in 2008. Geneva comes in fourth followed by Hong Kong. Bargain hunters could now consider moving to Johannesburg as it was rated as the cheapest city.

The world’s most comprehensive cost of living survey covers 143 cities across six continents and measures the comparative cost of over 200 items, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment. It is mainly used to help MNCs and governments determine compensation allowance for their expatriate employees. New York is used as the base city for index and currency movements are measured against the US dollar. A significant reshuffle of cities is observed in this year’s rankings. European cities have experienced the steepest falls in their rankings with London plummeting from 3rd to 16th place due to decline in rental prices coupled with fall in the value of British pound against US dollar. Dubai (a saver’s haven) ironically rising from 52nd to 20th place. New York jumped from 22nd to 8th place due to the strengthening of US dollar. Delhi (at top spot in the region) dropped from last year’s 55th to 65th place while Mumbai was slightly lower at 66th place from last year’s 48th position. Both Bangalore and Chennai were among the world’s 20 least expensive cities. The Indian cities were ranked lower this year despite over 10% inflation in recent times due to the devaluation of the rupee against most major world currencies. On the brighter side, one hopes that the rupee’s loss of value may serve to attract globally mobile executives to our business centres.