Goods Services

 Novorossiysk, Russia as seen during our recent on-site survey. Photo taken by AIRINC surveyor Eugene Kobiako.

Foreign Citizen Registration Law

In July of 2018, Russia changed its rule for foreign citizen registration. Previously, a foreign resident could register using their company address. The new rule no longer allows this and requires a home address.

Seoul, South Korea as seen during AIRINC's recent on-site survey. 

Availability and Production Delays

During AIRINC’s November onsite surveys in Korea, aspirin was still absent from pharmacy shelves. The 500mg tablets have not been available for purchase since December 2016, when the Korean Ministry of Food and Drug Safety determined that the dissolution rate did not meet its standards.

Data Points: A selection of AIRINC cost-of-living survey results

The results are in! Data Points, AIRINC's quarterly newsletter, is now available on our website at
https://www.air-inc.com/data-points/ 

 Belize City, Belize as seen during our recent on-site survey. Photo taken by AIRINC surveyor Philli Wong.

Availability and Outlets

Over the past decade of surveying Belize City, availability and outlets in our goods and services survey have changed very little. The same two supermarkets remain the best options in town–Brodie’s and Save U. These outlets offer a decent selection of grocery items and some imports, but an assignee may have to visit more than one shop on a shopping trip in order to get particular ingredients.

 Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia as seen during an on-site survey. Photo taken by AIRINC surveyor Samuel Pearl Schwartz.

Kota Kinabalu: Growing and Diversifying 

On my recent trip, I surveyed Malaysian cities on the island of Borneo. The island is shared by Malaysia, Indonesia, and the small sultanate of Brunei. The largest of the cities I surveyed was Kota Kinabalu, known colloquially as “KK.”

One of many alerts posted around the V&A Waterfront Mall in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo taken by AIRINC surveyor Eugene Kobiako.

Update on the Water Crisis

AIRINC’s onsite Surveyors investigate topics of international interest, including hardship situations. My colleague, Yimkwan Tsang, wrote about the water crisis in Cape Town after her February 2018 survey. At that time, Cape Town was expected to run out of water as early as June. However, this event, known as Day Zero, kept getting pushed back. 

A view of Kuwait City, Kuwait during an AIRINC cost-of-living survey.

Tobacco, Alcohol, and Rising Inflation

In Q4 2017 we reported on the emergence of sin taxes across Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries.

Data Points: A selection of AIRINC cost-of-living survey results

The results are in! Data Points, AIRINC's quarterly newsletter, is now available on our website at
https://www.air-inc.com/data-points/