S'pore's the best place for Asian expats: Report

SINGAPORE has once again been named the best place in Asia to call home, in a ranking that claims to influence the hiring of foreign talent.

The island has also been crowned the world's most desirable place for Asian expatriates, ahead of Sydney in second place, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

This is the fifth consecutive time that Singapore has beaten 254 cities to take top spot since the annual Location Ranking Survey started about 15 years ago.

The report was released yesterday by Hong Kong-based human resources consultancy firm ECA International, which awards scores on a range of factors, from climate and housing to health care and safety.

Mr Lee Quane, general manager of ECA's Hong Kong office, said the report - which will be sold to the firm's 1,500 clients - affects hiring policies because of the 'hardship' allowances it recommends.

A hardship allowance - up to 30 per cent of an expat's salary - is paid to workers who move to a place where the standard of living is lower than their home base.
The more comfortable the location, the lower the allowance.

Singapore, for instance, has a 'zero'' recommendation - which could be the clinching factor for firms caught between similar locations.

Expats interviewed yesterday agreed that Singapore is one of the world's best places to live in.

Mr H.D. Gupta, managing director of an IT firm, said that when he moved out of India 14 years ago, he chose Singapore over Hong Kong. The clincher: bigger apartments and better education for his two children.

For another expatriate, Japanese Yoshihiro Matsukawa, it was all about the family.
On the weekends, the director of an electronics firm goes golfing, his wife plays tennis and their two school-going children splash about in their condominium pool. 'Here, we can all enjoy,' said Mr Matsukawa, who moved here four years ago.

March 14, 2007