A survey launched by an international human resource organization ranked Macao as the 7th best place in Asia for Asian expatriates to live, following Taiwan, according to a Wednesday report by the Macao Daily Times.

The Location Ranking Survey on expatriate living conditions was launched by ECA (Employment Conditions Abroad) International, the world's largest membership organization for international human resources professionals.

The latest result of the ECA survey said that Singapore is the best city in Asia and even worldwide for Asian expatriates to live in due mainly to its quality of life and low crime rate, while Macao only secured itself in the seventh place in Asia and 59th in world ranking.

Undertaken annually, the ECA survey compares living standards in 254 locations globally according to categories including climate, air quality, health services, housing and utilities, social network and leisure facilities, infrastructure, and political tensions, ECA said in a press release.

Overall scores are used by ECA Member companies to establish allowances which compensate expatriate staff for the difficulties of living in their assignment location, the organization added.

Hong Kong has witnessed a "noteworthy" rise of 8 places in the ranking, as it secured an eighth place within Asia and 15th worldwide in the latest survey result, according to ECA.

Among Chinese Mainland's cities, Shanghai was seen as the best place for top Asian professionals, while Beijing fared worse than other Chinese cities such as Nanjing and Tianjing owing to its low air quality, according to the survey.

(Xinhua News Agency March 6, 2008)