Hong Kong still a bargain among cities

(First Edition)

BUY YOUR luggage in Paris, then head to Hong Kong for the overall best prices in luxury-end clothing, cameras and electronics. That's the message from an 11-city price survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit, AFP reports.

Shopping for 15 items, the research arm of the Economist found that prices were 22 per cent lower in Hong Kong - representing savings of HKdollars 3,000 (pounds 270) - than Singapore, which came second.

'The best buys in Hong Kong are a Celine handbag, a Ralph Lauren shirt and a gold necklace,' it said. It said the tax-free colony was also 'highly price competitive' on cameras and personal electronics.

European cities surveyed - London, Paris and Frankfurt - were more expensive than the average although the French capital was the cheapest place to pick up a Samsonite suitcase.

The most expensive was Tokyo, where the full basket was 76 per cent dearer than in Hong Kong, followed by Toronto, where Canada's hefty goods and services tax took its toll.