According to a leading newspaper in the United Arab Emirates ‘The National’ Singapore is the most expensive city in the world. The government owned newspaper based in Abu Dhabi, undertook a study of consumer goods across a selection of developed economic countries. The study revealed that Singapore is the costliest city for mass market goods and essential items such as food and drinks compared to the United Kingdom, the United States and UAE.
It may not come as a surprise to many, luxury goods Louis Vuitton Bag is the cheapest in Singapore.
Daily staples like milk and eggs are double the price than in the United Kingdom and the United States. A low price H&M T-shirt is one of the most expensive. If the volume of milk sold is made equal, the exorbitant price in Singapore is painfully glaring.
In a city where people replace dollar bills in their wallet from the receipts that they collect from the retailers, DPM Tharman Shanmugaratnam’s assertion that people are not the most expensive city in the world seems to fall flat on his face.
Mr. Shanmugaratnam refuted BBC’s report by saying that high prices in the city is a reflection due to the pretentious expats and “arguably, people with expense accounts do not spend like the rest of the city.
He went on to say, “For ordinary citizens, it was 48th wedged between Lisbon and Pittsburg”. This is rather contradictory, from our research, it is apparent that essential items such as eggs and milk are basic food items, and we are priced higher than our counterparts in the United Kingdom and United States.
People have the right to question the policies before it is being implemented. Consumers in Gulf States questioned the validity of “Value Added Taxes” (VAT) as they feel consumer goods have in-built hidden taxes in the first place.
Likewise, Singapore should be more detailed in its tracking of basic items and there is a need to rationalize the components that contribute to inflationary pressures and if rental is the component that contributes to high prices. If that’s the case, then policies should be geared to reduce rental prices for a start.
Singapore researchers turn water into lemonade
AMandeep
