UAE expats pay the lowest for petrol, soft drink can

Dubai and Abu Dhabi are continuing to witness increase in cost of living as rents soar, but the emirates still remain quite cheaper for expatriates compared to other global cities, according to a new survey.

ECA International’s latest ‘Cost of Living’ survey places Dubai at 171st position globally, while Abu Dhabi is placed at the 181st  position of 440 cities surveyed. In its June survey, Dubai was placed at 174th position.

“The price of items in ECA's cost of living basket for expatriates has gone up significantly and both Dubai and Abu Dhabi have also risen in the ranking,” the survey states.

Expatriates were paying the lowest for buying a litre of petrol and a soft drink can in Dubai compared Singapore, Hong Kong, Manhattan, London, Jakarta, Sydney, etc.

The survey, which compares prices of some goods and services commonly purchased by expatriates, revealed that buying a litre of petrol in Dubai costs mere $0.48 compared to $2.18 in London, $1.89 in Singapore and $2.25 in Hong Kong. For buying a can of soft drink in Dubai, an expatriate pays only $0.66, while in London it costs $1.43, Singapore $1.26 and Hong Kong $1.2.

In July, UK-based Knight Frank revealed that Dubai had topped the list of best performing rental markets in the world with rents rising 18.3 per cent in the year to March. In a number of reports released thereafter, global real estate consultancies have predicted rents to rise in the long term as the number of expatriates are likely to up.

Expo 2020 win is likely to create over 277,000 jobs in Dubai alone.

Caracas, Venezuelan capital, was rated as the most expensive place in the world for expatriates. Prices for items in ECA's shopping basket there increased by over 60 per cent on average since last year.

Luanda, Angola, was ranked in the second most expensive place followed by Norway's capital Oslo in the third place. South Sudan's Juba took the fourth position, while Norway's Stavanger was placed in the fifth position.

Living costs for assignees are affected by inflation, availability of goods and exchange rates, all of which can have a significant impact on assignee remuneration packages.

And to assist companies with their calculations ECA carries out two cost of living surveys per year, comparing a basket of like-for-like consumer goods and services commonly purchased by assignees in 440 locations worldwide.

Multinational companies often include a cost of living allowance in their pay package to ensure that their employees' spending power is not compromised while on international assignment.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.