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London continues to lead for economic clout in annual global PwC study of finance capitals
The fourth edition of Cities of Opportunity released today by PwC, shows that the financial crisis has not damaged London’s position as the city with the most economic clout in the world, as it performs strongly on the percentage of workforce employed in the financial and business services industry and the strength of currency.
In addition, London’s position as a city that it is easy to do business in is confirmed as it ranks fourth of the 26 cities surveyed and performs highly in such indicators as ease of entry, flexibility of visa travel, workforce management risk and the number of foreign embassies or consulates.
David Snell, partner in PwC’s London practice said:
“This study shows that it takes more than a financial crisis to shift London from its position as the city with the most economic clout. With the number of global 500 headquarters in London continuing to grow and strength of the currency remaining strong – London continues to be a leading global financial centre.
“The fact that it also continues to rank so highly as a city where it is easy to do business, shows that this is not just a city for financial services and we continue to welcome companies from all sectors.”
Overall, London ranked sixth in the study which analyses and ranks how 26 global centres of finance, business and culture perform across 10 key indicators, but this year the survey shows that the finance and business centres of the future may not be the traditional capitals of global dominance. Cities with balanced economies and strong quality of life have risen to the top of the list, offering an attractive alternative: resilience during downturns and allure for skilled people who will build the future.
Although it ranks highly in terms of lifestyle indicators and tourism, London has work to do in the sustainability area and is still one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in. London ranks well for the research performance of its top universities, but it ranks lower for intellectual capital and innovation – suggesting work needs to be done to turn the research into practical application.
In the study, which is authored in conjunction with the partnership for New York City, New York ranks as the top city. But it is followed closely in the top five by Toronto, San Francisco, Stockholm and Sydney -- cities more notable for quality of life and balance than global business dominance.
While these cities cannot match the size or economic clout of longstanding commercial hubs like London, New York, Paris or Tokyo, their performance highlights a changing global dynamic. Modern cities are less dependent on geography and historic connections and more reliant on holistic approaches to attracting and keeping creative minds and cutting-edge businesses that will build the future.
ENDS
1. Cities of Opportunity is based on publicly available data, using three main sources: global multilateral development organizations such as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund; national statistics organizations, such as National Statistics in the UK and the Census Bureau in the US; and commercial data providers. The data was collected during the second and third quarters of 2010. In the majority of cases, the data used refers to 2009 and 2010. In some cases when verifiable and consistent city information was not available, national data was used as a proxy. Care has been taken to ensure that, where used, national data closely reflects the city. The scoring methodology was developed to ensure transparency and simplicity for readers, as well as comparability across cities.
2. The complete report, interactive tools that allow users to model their own comparisons among the 26 cities and 66 variables, and videos and podcasts featuring Rem Koolhaas and Mortimer Zuckerman are available at: www.pwc.com/cities.
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