MANILA, Philippines — Singapore-based fintech platform ROSHI released a report showing the cost of living in major Southeast Asian cities.
Singapore had the highest index score for cost of living as the city-state was the only entry to score over 80, the closest to it being Cambodia (44.5) and Thailand (40.7).
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Three Thai cities were included in the report — Bangkok (38.9), Phuket (36.6), and Chiang Mai (29.4) — while the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh scored 38.2.
Manila followed with a 35.6 then Malaysia's Kuala Lumpur (32.6), Indonesia's Jakarta (28.6), and Vietnam, which had two cities included namely Ho Chi Minh (29.9) and Hanoi (28.4).
ROSHI noted that cost of living does not directly correlate with quality of life given many factors contribute to overall living standards in each country.
According to the platform, Singapore's high cost of living is because of limited land and advanced infrastructure, a robust economy, high wages, strong currency, stringent import regulations, and high-quality education and healthcare systems.
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The report also acknowledged Singapore's status as a global financial hub attracting multinational corporations and wealthy expatriates, factors it compared to high-cost cities outside Southeast Asia like Hong Kong and Seoul.
Other things attributed to its numbers were Singapore's historically low crime rates, high employment, and salary rates, this as the annual income of residents in Singapore increased by more than 40% over the past decade.
Renting a home in Singapore costs $2600 (P148,000) whereas in Manila, the average is $585 (P33,500), already the third-highest among the mentioned cities.
Singapore scored a 76 on a groceries index for food, drinkable water, and household items; while Manila scored 43.9, with Bangkok (46.8), Phnom Penh (46), and Phuket (45.1) sandwiched between them.
ROSHI noted the Philippines was impacted by global supply chain issues since the pandemic, seeing a stiff increase in costs for outsourced materials like school and office supplies rising by nearly 16% in 2023 from the previous year.
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