EXPATRIATES PREFER KL, GEORGETOWN

By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, March 11 (Bernama) - The Malaysian cities of Kuala Lumpur and
Georgetown are among the top 10 locations in Asia where Europeans prefer to work
and live in, according to a latest international location ratings survey.

Kuala Lumpur was ranked ninth and Georgetown 10th, after Singapore, Kobe,
Yokohama, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Macau, Seoul and Taipei, said ECA International, an
agency that develops and provides solutions for the management and assignment of
employees around the world, in its annual Location Ratings Survey.

The survey rates living standards in more than 400 locations globally,
according to categories including climate, air quality, health services, housing
and utilities, isolation, social network and leisure facilities, infrastructure,
personal safety and political tensions.

Its overall ratings normally would be used by international human resources
departments to establish allowances which compensate expatriate staff for the
difficulties of adapting to living in their assignment location.

Both Kuala Lumpur and Georgetown were also ranked ninth in Asia for Asians
to live in, the survey said, adding that in the world's rankings, they took 61st
and 64th spots, respectively.

In that same global category, Singapore took first placing, followed by
Kobe (3), Yokohama (4), Tokyo (6), Hong Kong (11), Taipei (56), Macau (56) and
Bangkok (63).

"These rankings reveal a large gulf in the quality of living among Asian
locations," said ECA International Regional Director Asia Lee Quane.

He said, while there were a handful of locations in Asia which offered Asian
assignees a good standard of living, the majority of locations would be
challenging in some shape or form and therefore, warranting high location
allowances.

The survey also said Baghdad remained the least favourable location to live
in, followed by Kabul, Karachi and Port-au-Prince.

"A lack of suitable facilities for expatriates, along with high personal
security risk, makes these locations the least desirable," the survey said.

-- BERNAMA