Costly Hong Kong May Lose Its Edge: HR Consultancy

A human resources consultancy has warned that Hong Kong is losing its appeal for overseas talent, after its annual study showed the city remains the most expensive in the world for expatriates to live in.

ECA International said prices of a basket of goods that it tracked and housing costs have jumped three percent on year, while the median increase worldwide was nearly six percent.

The Hong Kong dollar has been strong due to the strength of the greenback, while other currencies have weakened, the consultancy explained.

Its regional director for Asia, Lee Quane, said cost is just one factor affecting people's decisions on whether to stay or go.

"In terms of whether or not it's the most important factor, it will depend on the person obviously it's a subjective measurement but other factors will be areas such as quality of living," he said.

Quane said his firm's liveability gauge shows that Hong Kong is falling behind compared to other locations partly because of its management of the pandemic.

"Hong Kong is very much in danger of being left behind," he warned, pointing out that other regional locations which have been conservative in handling their Covid situation, such as Japan, have also started to relax their travel restrictions.

"Companies and employees alike, they want consistency, they want continuity, they want to be able to plan...they see that locations elsewhere both in the region and elsewhere, they've formulated a plan in terms of how they're going to get out of Covid-19," he explained.

"One of the issues that we think companies are facing here, or staff, they see that Hong Kong doesn't necessarily have that or haven't enunciated what their plan is and that's causing them to think twice about whether or not to stay."