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Cost of living for expats in China higher than New York, Tokyo: survey
AFP ^ | Thu Jul 22, 2004 | AFP

Posted on 07/22/2004 9:49:34 PM PDT by hedgetrimmer

BEIJING, (AFP) - Companies are increasingly moving staff and offices to global investment hotspot China, but while still a developing country it has some of the world's highest living costs for expatriates, according to a new survey.


Companies are increasingly moving staff and offices to global investment hotspot China, but while still a developing country it has some of the world's highest living costs for expatriates, according to a new survey. Here Beijing construction(AFP/File/Peter Parks)



Conducted by the US-based Mercer Human Resource Consulting firm, the survey says the cost of apartments and tuition for children in China's expat hubs was even more expensive than cities like New York and Tokyo.

A 200-square-meter (2,152-square-feet) furnished house at prime locations for expats in the eastern metropolis Shanghai, for example, rents at 9,400 US dollars a month.



This is higher than 7,500 dollars in New York, according to results seen by AFP.

Beijing topped the chart of the most costly Chinese city to live in for expatriates, followed by Shanghai and Shenzhen in the south.



Education for children at expatriate schools in China is also expensive.

Annual tuition comes to 17,000 dollars for kindergartens, 18,000 dollars at primary schools and 19,000 dollars at middle schools -- higher than the average 15,000 dollars in Hong Kong and 17,000 dollars in Tokyo for all levels, the survey said.



The survey is part of an annual study of 144 cities around the world. It is aimed at helping multinational companies determine the costs of stationing staff overseas. Specific results for China were released this week.

It measures the comparative costs of more than 200 items in each location, including housing, food, clothing and household goods as well as transportation and entertainment.



With all the items taken into consideration, Tokyo remains the world's most expensive city in the world, while London took second place, followed by Moscow, according to the survey. New York ranked 12th and Paris 17th.



Four of the world's costliest cities are in Asia. In addition to Tokyo, they were Osaka which ranked 4th, followed by Hong Kong in 5th place and Seoul in 7th.



In terms of the quality of life, even the costliest Chinese cities still ranked far below their counterparts in other countries, the survey found.

Beijing, which ranked 11th in cost of living among the 144 cities, ranked 132nd in quality of life, while Shanghai, which placed 16th in costliness, ranked 107th in quality of life.

The city-state of Singapore was still considered a favourable place to live and work. It ranked 46th in cost of living and 33rd in quality of life.



Hong Kong ranked 5th in cost of living and 70th in quality of life.

China drew 53.5 billion dollars in foreign direct investments in 2003, outpacing foreign investments in the United States for the first time.

Following its entry into the World Trade Organization (news - web sites) in 2001, there has been an influx of businesses into China from industries all over the world.

Many companies set up factories in smaller, cheaper cities, but major firms still prefer to have their China headquarters in one of the key cities.


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Extended News; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: china; chinastuff; expats; globalism; outsourcing; overseasexecutives
Beijing's quality of life for outsourcing executives is costlier and inferior to other cities, like New York, USA.
1 posted on 07/22/2004 9:49:37 PM PDT by hedgetrimmer
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To: *China stuff; neutrino

If you're interested.


2 posted on 07/22/2004 9:50:25 PM PDT by hedgetrimmer
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To: hedgetrimmer
What these surveys fail to mention is that these "expats" insist on living in NYC luxury while in Beijing and the other places.

Its simply a ridiculous comparison. Do they honestly think that these are the standards of the average Beijing Chinese?

C'mon folks...use some common sense.

3 posted on 07/22/2004 9:57:19 PM PDT by Khurkris (Proud Scottish/HillBilly - We perfected "The Art of the Grudge")
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To: hedgetrimmer

Many companies are also there trying to sell things and manage factories for the domestic market. A lot of the outsourcing people don't need to live there..just send buyers..like Wallmart.
Interesting places to visit,,but I prefer living in Singapore.


4 posted on 07/22/2004 10:01:19 PM PDT by Oldexpat
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To: hedgetrimmer
A 200-square-meter (2,152-square-feet) furnished house at prime locations for expats in the eastern metropolis Shanghai, for example, rents at 9,400 US dollars a month

That seems so wrong. No, I believe the accuracy of the report, it just seems so wrong. Here, check out this snip from China Economic Net:

The number of indigent Chinese with less than 637 yuan (US$77) of annual net income rose by 800,000 in 2003. This is the first time the number increased since China began opening-up in the late 1970s, said a senior Chinese official.

China has over a billion citizens. 800,000 of 'em make less than 77 bucks a year, and that's not some dusty old figure, that's 2003 data. And a set of walls for an expatriate goes for $9400 a month? Talk about markup...

5 posted on 07/22/2004 10:03:56 PM PDT by boycottliberalhollywood.com (www.boycottliberalhollywood.com - www.twoamericas.us)
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To: hedgetrimmer

Southeast China, also known as the "Gold Coast" is as prosperous as any other of the high-powered Asian economies.

In fact, many scholars believe that the massive wealth accumulating there will tear at the fabric of China, splitting the country into multiple states. There are million-man worker protect in central China that the world doesn't talk about, but the dimplomatic and business communities do. I read a piece in COMMENTARY Magazine a few years ago even speculated where these new boundaries would lie.

Here is how I forsee the new Chinas breaking down:

-A "Cantonese Republic of China", incorporating Hong Kong, Macao, Guangzhou (greater Hong Kong), part of the Gulf of Tonkin, and possibly even Hainan Island. This region of China speaks a different dialect than the rest of the country and is the most economically advanced of any part of China. Civila liberties are also higher here than anywhere else, with the spread of Hong Kong-based individuals to Guangzhou.

-A Nanjing-Shanghai-Fuzhou nation-state along the Taiwan Strait. This is the second-most economically-advanced part of China. Jiang Ziamen and his cronies run Shanghai and therefore possess massive political clout. Nanjing was the capital of China until the WWII (remember the Rape of nanking?) The bulk of PRC military assets are also in this region.

- A "Republic of Manchuria" will incorporate Beijing, the Chinese rust-belt in Shenyang Province along the North Korean border, and the Gobi Desert in North-Central China. This will be the leftover husk of the PRC.

- The "Republic of Yunan", probably the most beautiful part of China, will be centered around the massive city of Kunming. The region has a shared bistory with the Buddhist cultures to the South and is currently expanding trade through the region.

- Tibet. No explanation needed.

- Eastern Turkestan. This is the muslim separatist movement in China you hear so much about. They literally have nothing in common with China's ethnic Han majority and have been brutally reporessed by them for centuries. Eastern is basically a Central Asian muslim state just like all the other "-stans"; no different.

- Taiwan. Taiwan is the original Republic of China. THEY ARE ALREADY THE SECOND CHINESE STATE.

So, we have 7 Chinas in the end.


6 posted on 07/22/2004 10:35:53 PM PDT by Remember_Salamis (Freedom is Not Free)
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To: Remember_Salamis

China has remained united and intact continuosly for the past 5000 years

China did not break up during the time of the;

"WARRING STATES"----2500BC, when 5 warring states fought each other continuosly

"THE OPIUM WAR"----1860-1900 when all the major Western Powers attacked her simultaneously

"THE 2nd WW" , 1937-1945, when Japan bombed her back to the Stone-Age. The Chinese fought on against overwheming odds,suffering great hardships, and losing 38 million dead,

"THE CIVIL-WAR" 1945-1949 The Cummunists against the Nationalist Armies

The GREAT CULTURAL REVOLUTION, When the country was in total chaos. The Maoist against the Moderates

Will China break up now ?????

A good question......


7 posted on 07/22/2004 10:50:33 PM PDT by Smiling-Face TIGER
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To: Smiling-Face TIGER

For the first time in 5000 years, the common man in China is experiencing some resemblance of liberty, even though it's economic liberty and not civil liberty.

The regime will either change and China will stay united, or the regime will not change and it will slowly break apart.

Of course, there are those who argue that a nationalist China, beholden only to the setiment of repressed ethnic Han pride, would be more of a danger than the communist one...


8 posted on 07/22/2004 11:02:26 PM PDT by Remember_Salamis (Freedom is Not Free)
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To: hedgetrimmer
AFP manages to get many significant details about this survey wrong.

The first and most annoying is the title: "Cost of living for expats in China higher than New York, Tokyo: survey". That is not at all what the Mercer survey says. The actual survey rankings does place Beijing at number 11 in the world, slightly (101.1 versus 100) more expensive than New York at number 12, but Tokyo is rated number 1 at with a far higher score of 130.

In point of fact, Beijing actually is slightly decreased from 2003 when it was 105, and Tokyo's score is up from 128. The next Chinese city is Shanghai, which is ranked 16th with a score of 95.3; after that, Shenzhen is number 30 with a score of only 85.6. The only other Chinese city to make the top 50 was Ghanzhou was at 32 with a 84.9. (29 was Hanoi, 31 was Taipei, 33 was Tel Aviv.)

The SAR, however, is a bit more expensive; Hong Kong came in number 5, with a score of 109.5. Otherwise, there is nothing to indicate that costs of living for expats in China ex Hong Kong were anything like those in, say, Japan, which had Tokyo at 1 and Osaka at 4.

9 posted on 07/23/2004 8:35:37 PM PDT by snowsislander
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