SINGAPORE, March 10 — For the third year running, Singapore is the most expensive city in the world, though Zurich and Hong Kong are a very close joint second, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

Singapore has a score of 116, just ahead of Zurich and Hong Kong’s 114, in the EIU’s latest Worldwide Cost of Living report, a twice yearly survey that compares more than 400 individual prices across 160 products and services.

These include food, drink, clothing, household supplies and personal care items, home rents, transport, utility bills, private schools, domestic help and recreational costs.

This survey allows human resource line managers and expatriate executives to compare the cost of living in different countries around the world. This, in turn, will allow hiring companies to calculate a fair remuneration package for relocating employees.

Singapore, according to the EIU, is consistently expensive in terms of buying and running a car. Transport costs in Singapore are 2.7 times higher than New York. It is also an expensive place to buy clothes and pay for utilities.

However, in terms of basic groceries, Singapore offers the same value as New York, unlike Seoul, which is 33 per cent more expensive. — TODAY