Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh Cities continue to make the list of the world’s top 100 most-expensive cities for expatriates, ranking the 58 th and 69 th , respectively.

The cost-of-living ranking of 143 cities in the world, done by the US human resource, financial and service researcher, Mercer, was announced on July 8.

New York is used as the base city for the index, fixed at 100 cost-of-living points, which is the baseline to compare the price of a ‘basket of goods’--200 items and services, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment, in the cities ranked.

Compared to last year’s list, Hanoi jumped 33 places and Ho Chi Minh City , 31 places. But, in terms of cost-of-living points, Hanoi fell from 79 to 77.7, while Ho Chi Minh City dropped to 74.9 from last year’s 76.3 points.

Mercer explained that although the Vietnam dong has weakened slightly against the US dollar, inflation for purchases in Mercer’s international basket of goods was higher in Vietnam than in New York city , thus pushing Hanoi and HCM City up through the ranks.

The Mercer survey also showed a table of changes in ranking due to shifts in each country’s currency exchange rate against the US dollar.

This year, Tokyo knocked off Moscow , which had been the most expensive city for three consecutive years, to grab first place as the most expensive city for expatriates. It was followed by Osaka , making Japan the only country in the world to fill the two top slots in the same year.

Moscow , Geneva and Hong Kong placed third, fourth and fifth, respectively, while Johannesburg is said to be the cheapest./.