As anyone at a multinational who has to manage the costs of expatriate staff will grumble, Hong Kong property is more expensive than just about anywhere in the world.
Two reports released in September, however, reveal in exhaustive detail how expensive the city has become across a spectrum of goods and services.
Julius Baer, the Swiss wealth management firm, compared Hong Kong with Singapore, Shanghai and Mumbai on an unusually defined list of luxury goods, many of which wealthy expatriates consume. Root canal treatment, for example, costs $3,350 in Hong Kong against $1,839 in Singapore and just $463 in Mumbai. Golf club membership in Hong Kong was $386,489 against Singapore’s $239,866.