Friday, November 03, 2006

ECCT SURVEY RANKS TAIPEI FOURTH MOST LIVABLE ASIAN CITY

Taipei, Nov. 3 (CNA) Taipei has been ranked as the fourth most livable Asian city out of eight contestants in a survey conducted among European Chambers around the Asia-Pacific region,the European Chamber of Commerce in Taipei (ECCT) announced Friday.

Kuala Lumpur came in as the best place to live with the highest overall quality of life, followed by Hong Kong and Manila, the survey conducted by ECCT over the course of the summer found after collecting 585 member replies from seven European Chambers in the region.

Shanghai/Beijing, Ho Chi Minh/Hanoi, Jakarta and Seoul rounded out the fifth to eighth spot, said Mike Jewell, senior director of Research Department, TNS -- a marketing research firm.

The survey asked respondents to rate the city they currently reside, on a one to five scale, in 53 individual aspects, such as personal safety, the range and quality of housing, emergency service and the quality of banking and air.

Thirty-six percent of ECCT members described living in Taipei as "excellent" or "very good", while Kuala Lumpur emerged on top at 68 percent.

While Taipei was ranked above average in most catogories, among them the educational facility and the availability and quality of internet services, its air quality surprisingly ranked the best among eight Asian cities.

However, Taipei scored below average in catogories such as the overall quality of medical services, housing and banking services.

Several cities, including Singapore, were not included in the survey due to insufficient samples.