Four Japanese cities in World's top 5 most expensive spots for foreigners

London, Dec 5 (ANI): Japanese cities have claimed four of the top five places on a list of the most expensive parts of the world for foreigners to live owing to the global financial insecurity.

The most expensive city in the world for foreigners was Luanda in Angola, which came as a surprise for many, but the top spot came in the wake of the rarity of expatriate products leading to high cost of living.The list was compiled by ECA International, which consults companies on international assignments.

But, it was Japan that dominated the top end of the poll, with the capital Tokyo named the second most expensive place followed closely by the Japanese cities Yokohama, Nagoya and Kobe.

While none of the Japanese cities featured in the top ten last year, their promotion to the upper ranks of the league table reflect a strengthened yen in Japan that has resulted in a sharp increase in living expenses.

Japan's status as one of the most expensive countries was due to the fluctuating exchange rates.

But, quite unexpected was London plummeting to 72nd place, after it stood at the 10th place in the same poll last year. The financial crisis has made London cheaper than dozens of cities including Paris, Munich, Amsterdam and Brussels. Last year London came 10th.

For the study, the researchers compared the costs of 125 consumer goods and services commonly purchased by expatriates in 370 locations around the world.

The goods and services covered in the survey ranged from groceries and electrical goods to clothing and motoring expenses.

Moscow emerged as Europe's most expensive city for foreigners to reside, while Manhattan has stepped up from 54th place last year to 21st place due to currency fluctuations.

On the other hand, Islamabad emerged as the cheapest location in Asia, with goods and services costing around 70 per cent less than in Japan.

"Global economic events mean that throughout the world exchange rates are fluctuating and, in many cases, dramatically," The Telegraph quoted Lee Quane, general manager Asia at ECA International, as saying.

He added: "Depending on their salary calculation methodology, many companies will have to pay particularly close attention to these movements in order to apply appropriate cost of living indices to the remuneration packages of their international assignees." (ANI)