This article was first published by The Star

PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur has been rated the least expensive city in Asean in terms of the cost of living, while Singapore remains the world's most expensive.

In the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2017 Worldwide Cost of Living survey, Kuala Lumpur was ranked the 96th most expensive city in the world, tying with Bogota.

Singapore was No 1, 20% more expensive than New York which was ranked ninth and 5% more than Hong Kong which was ranked second.

The survey compares the prices of 160 goods and services in 133 cities around the world, and is mainly used by human resources managers to calculate compensation packages for overseas postings.

Five out of the six most expensive cities in the world are in Asia. After Singapore and Hong Kong, Tokyo came in at No 4, Osaka at No 5, and Seoul at No 6.

Zurich was the only European city to be ranked in the top six.

When it comes to other Asean cities, Manila was ranked at 92, Jakarta at 82, Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh jointly at 78, Hanoi at 59 and Bangkok at 51.