Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai (SHP)

Mumbai, Jun 28: Mercer’s annual global cost of living rankings for the ‘most expensive cities in the world’ is released. A 12 point drop has been observed for city of Mumbai. It slipped from its initial spot of 55 and has landed on 67. According to the survey, the drop is seen due to the relatively slow rise in the prices of basket of goods, along with a drop in the cost of eating out.

However, Mumbai is among the eight Asian cities in the global top 20 most expensive locations for expats. The real estate in Mumbai is also considered to be the most expensive in the world. The measures of determining the ranks included cost of over 200 items along with cost of housing, transportation, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.

“A number of factors, including currency fluctuations, cost of inflation for goods and services and volatility in accommodation prices, contribute to the overall cost of expatriate packages for employees on international assignments,” stated the survey, which MNCs use while calculating compensation packages for employees on international assignments.

One of the prime reasons for the rank is the relative affordability that foreigners get because of the valuation of dollar against the rupee. Following Mumbai, the other Indian cities which made it to the list were, New Delhi at 118 spot and Chennai landing at the 154 spot. Meanwhile, Bengaluru placed at 179 rank and Kolkata secured 189 rank registering as the least expensive Indian cities.