Hong Kong ranked 13th most expensive city in global cost-of-living survey

Hong Kong has scaled another rung on the cost-of-living ladder to become the 13th most expensive city to live in, an Economist Intelligence Unit survey shows.

Currency appreciation and inflationary pressures drove the city up the think tank's Worldwide Cost of Living index from last year's 14th place.

But in Asia, the city fell one position instead to 5th place, behind Tokyo, Melbourne, Sydney and the new title holder for the most expensive city in the world to live in - Singapore.

The widening gap in cost of living between Singapore and Hong Kong could make the latter a more attractive destination for multinational companies looking to relocate employees, Edward Bell, senior commodities economist at the EIU, said.

"From a cost perspective, if comparing the two key financial hubs, our findings show that Hong Kong would be the relatively cheaper place," he said.

The minor rise in Hong Kong's ranking generally reflected stable inflation in the city's cost of living, Bell said.

Singapore, on the other hand, saw a significant rise in costs this year because of higher structural costs such as transport, fuel and a stronger currency, he said.