Karachi, June 22: Expanding both vertically and horizontally, home to one of the most heterogeneous mix of population, Karachi, the port city of Pakistan, has maintained its position as the second least expensive city of the world, says a recently released study by global human resources advisory and research firm Mercer HR Consulting.

Comparatively cheaper rental rates, probably discounted for the high property prices in Karachi, enabled it to offer more value for each dollar spent by expatriates in the city.

According to the study available on the website, Karachi is placed at 142nd position in the worldwide ranking of 143 cities.

The study has ranked the cities based on cost of basic necessities, including housing, transport and food among others during the 12-month period ending March 2007.

The list is topped by Moscow, which has retained its position as the costliest city for expats, followed by London, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong among the top five. Asuncion in Paraguay is the least expensive city, while Quito in Ecuador, Montevideo in Uruguay and Argentina's Buenos Aires were the other three least expensive cities.

In India Mumbai is at 52nd, Delhi at 68th, Chennai at 133rd and Bangalore is placed at 134th position in the current survey.

While London moved up to second from fifth rank last year, Seoul, Tokyo and Hong Kong moved down the rankings.

Even Dhaka is costlier than Karachi.

The survey covered 143 cities across six continents and measured the comparative cost of over 200 items in each location, including housing, transport, food, clothing, household goods and entertainment.