“Hong Kong and mainland China were among the last regions globally to lift restrictions and were relatively inhospitable regions during the final stages of the pandemic,” said Mark Harrison, ECA’s general manager for Asia.
“With the belated lifting of these restrictions, both our Hong Kong and mainland China locations have seen improvement over the past 12 months.”
ECA attributes the downward trend in Hong Kong’s ranking over the past decade to the deterioration of the socio-political environment, particularly air pollution and the impact of typhoons, which can have a major impact on infrastructure and residents’ ability to move around the city. It is said that .
“Pollution and climate, those have always been factors and haven’t really changed in the last 10 years,” Harrison said.
“The political situation is definitely a factor that has lowered Hong Kong’s ranking over the past decade.”
Hong Kong ends its reign as the most expensive city for foreigners, with Singapore taking 8th place
Hong Kong ends its reign as the most expensive city for foreigners, with Singapore taking 8th place
Harrison said the company’s research shows that personal safety and socio-political tensions are the most important factors when employees consider moving abroad, and that they assess the risks of crime, terrorism and military coups. He added that Hong Kong scores highly on the former.
“When it comes to socio-political tensions, we have seen that its score has improved slightly over the past few years. It is primarily driven by the personal risks that a person may experience. Hence the protests Things like that are very destructive and dangerous for individuals,” he said.
“The Hong Kong National Security Law and the soon-to-be-enforced Article 23 will have little impact on foreign residents’ decisions to move to Hong Kong.”
In response to social unrest in 2019, the Chinese government implemented a national security law in Hong Kong. Hong Kong’s government plans to enact its own national security law this year, required by Article 23 of the city’s mini-constitution, the Basic Law.
Mr Harrison said Singapore has topped the ranking for 10 consecutive years because of its good infrastructure, low crime rate and limited climate risks (including no typhoons).
Hong Kong falls to 77th place in the ranking of ease of living for expats
Hong Kong falls to 77th place in the ranking of ease of living for expats
There is room for improvement for Hong Kong. “There is still time for air travel to return to pre-pandemic levels, which should improve external isolation scores,” he said.
“Some of the pollution we are experiencing in Hong Kong is certainly locally generated. I think if there were improvements in terms of access to electric vehicles, it could potentially reduce locally generated pollution. Masu.”
Mr Harrison added that some of the factors that contributed to Hong Kong’s rating were out of its control, such as the typhoons, and there was not much that could be done other than to keep the level of recovery and infrastructure as good as it was now.
Another factor is the difficulty in acquiring large properties, which expatriates may be more accustomed to. “Obviously, there are relatively small houses and apartments in Hong Kong; [and it is] It’s hard to change that in any meaningful way,” Harrison said.
In Asia, Hong Kong continues to trail behind three Japanese cities (Tokyo in 2nd place, Osaka in 5th place and Yokohama in 7th place) and South Korea’s Busan in 49th place.
Hong Kong is the highest ranked city in Greater China, tied with Taipei at 77th place. Macau ranks 92nd and Shanghai ranks 113th.