Shanghai is Asia's most expensive place for expatriates

Shanghai is Asia's most expensive city for expatriates and the world's seventh-most expensive for them, according to a recent cost-of-living survey that also cited China's strengthening currency, the renminbi, as the main cause.

Beijing, Hong Kong and Guangzhou ranked eighth, ninth and 14th, with all surpassing New York's Manhattan, which was 15th in the survey by ECA International, a London-based consultancy.

Beijing was the second-most expensive city in Asia.