By Li Hongmei

Beijing is the second most expensive city in Asia for expats, jumping up the ranking from fifth place last year, while Tokyo still tops the list despite a sharply weaker yen, a survey showed. Shanghai ranked fourth.

However, Tokyo was toppled as the world's most expensive city by Venezuelan capital Caracas, falling globally to 10th place owing to the softer Japanese currency, according to the survey by management consultancy firm ECA International.

"Although the Chinese government has allowed the renminbi to appreciate steadily against the US dollar and food and oil prices in China have been rising, Beijing's jump up the ranking is largely due to Japanese locations becoming so much cheaper because of the weaker yen," said Lee Quane, ECA's regional director for Asia.

The dollar is currently trading at around 102 yen from 80 yen levels last year.

"Nevertheless, living costs in Chinese locations have increased in recent years, making China a more expensive location than some of its neighbors for companies looking to set up operations in the region," Quane added.

In the current ranking of the 10 costliest cities in Asia, Tokyo and Beijing are followed by Nagoya, Shanghai, Yokohama, Seoul, Osaka, Hong Kong, Singapore and Guangzhou.

Hong Kong overtook Singapore for the first time since 2010 due to the recent weakening of the Singapore dollar. Globally, Singapore is ranked 30th, two notches below Hong Kong.

Caracas was named the most expensive city in the world for expats owing to a sharp jump in living costs amid economic turmoil in Venezuela, ECA said.

"However, this may be short-lived, as pressure is building on the currency, which could well be devalued in the near future," the firm said.

Caracas is followed in the global ranking by Luanda, Oslo, Juba in South Sudan, Stavanger in Norway, Zurich, Geneva, Bern, Basel and Tokyo.