London, Singapore and Toronto Lead the List of 30 Leading Global Business Centers

London has retained its leading position in the comprehensive study “Cities of Opportunity,” conducted by consultant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which analyzes the social and economic status of 30 leading global business centers, reported PwC Croatia. Singapore ranks second in this city index, Toronto third, and the top five also includes Paris and Amsterdam. European cities occupy four of the top ten spots.

PwC’s list measures the performance of cities through ten indicators, including transportation and infrastructure, ease of doing business, demographic characteristics and livability, technological readiness, and costs.

The report shows that cities are successful not only when they are economically vibrant but also when they excel in providing a range of social benefits, including a good quality of life, care for the elderly, housing, and disaster preparedness, each of which shows a strong connection to the leading cities in the study.

Since the methodology and data used in the report are primarily based on two years prior to the United Kingdom’s decision to exit the EU, the Brexit vote does not affect London’s position in this year’s Index, the report states.

London is among the top three cities in six indicators covered by the study, including intellectual capital and innovation, technological readiness, city access, demographic characteristics and livability, economic strength, and ease of doing business.

Singapore has advanced from third place in 2014 to first place in three indicators—technological readiness, transportation and infrastructure, and ease of doing business. The city is also successful in the area of taxation; Singapore, Dubai, and Hong Kong have the lowest tax rates and the highest efficiency.

Third-place Toronto ranks among the top ten in seven indicators and is particularly successful in categories related to the daily needs and demands of citizens.

Paris has climbed to fourth place from sixth in 2014, despite decades of economic pressure and, more recently, terrorist attacks. It ranks first in terms of demographic characteristics and livability, just like New York.

Amsterdam has entered the study for the first time this year, immediately securing fifth place. The city ranks in the top five in three indicators (intellectual capital and innovation, technological readiness, and sustainability and environmental protection).

New York is in sixth place, after being second in 2014 and first for many years prior to that period. The city has achieved lower scores in many measurement categories that were introduced for the first time this year and has been surpassed by the achievements of other cities. It needs significant improvement in sustainability and environmental protection, as well as health, safety, and security (ranked 16th), and costs (ranked 25th).

Seventh-place Stockholm has achieved particularly good results in sustainability and environmental protection as well as transportation and infrastructure. The city has also outperformed all others in two new variables, care for the elderly and business risks related to water.

Cities ranked from 8th to 15th place include: San Francisco, Hong Kong, Sydney, Seoul, Berlin, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Tokyo.

Global Leader of the Cities and Local Government Sector Hazem Galal stated that the consistent performance of cities like London, Paris, Singapore, and New York within the top ten “Cities of Opportunity” shows that success is driven not only by economic prosperity.

“A good quality of life in a city plays a fundamental role in its ability to attract and retain globally mobile talent that it needs. The ongoing urban competitiveness of these cities rests on sustained collaboration between businesses, policymakers, and the citizens who build them,” he emphasized.