Chinese residents' cost of living ranks ninth out of 23 countries and regions excluding Japan and South Korea in the Asia-Pacific region in a recent study conducted by the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank, Economic Observer reported (in Chinese). The report's findings are based on the countries' purchasing power parity, a measure of the cost of equivalent goods in the different countries and territories. Fiji topped the list with the most expensive cost of living, followed by Hong Kong, Macau, Singapore, Taiwan and the Maldives. Laos ranked at the bottom of the list with the cheapest cost of living in the region.