MAY 21: While Singapore has become Asia’s top ranked city across a broad range of indicators, Bangkok has climbed MORI’s Global Power City Index.
The capital of Thailand fails to make it into the top 15 cities globally according to a new report published by global real estate firm JLL in partnership with The Business of Cities Group. New York (pictured) was ranked top in this particular research.
In the MRI Global Power City Index, Bangkok was named as one of the top 30 most powerful cities in the world, and has overtaken the likes of Chicago, San Francisco, and Boston, as well as regional rivals Taipei and Kuala Lumpur.
The city also remains an important travel destination, with large international appeal, and is one of the world’s top twenty most popular convention and conference destinations (ICCA) and one of the top 20 strongest city brands globally (Guardian Cities Global Brand Survey).
The Business of Cities report, which analyses more than 200 globally recognised city performance studies, revealed that Singapore has overtaken Tokyo across six of the most robust indices to become Asia’s leader in higher education, mobility, science, broadband and technology.
The study ranked Singapore in third place worldwide, behind New York and London, and named it the ‘number one’ city globally for business friendliness. The report also revealed that Singapore is beginning to shake off its reputation for a lack of vibrancy among expatriates and tourists.
Chris Fossick, JLL’s Managing Director for Singapore and Southeast Asia, said: “The result of the survey confirms that Singapore has the infrastructure needed to be an Asia-Pacific headquarters for companies.
“The fact that it has overtaken Tokyo is an indication of the openness of the Singapore economy, which has been able to feed on global best practices, implement them efficiently and integrate them effectively into Singapore.”
Among the world’s top 15 cities, five are in Asia-Pacific, seven in Europe and three are in North America.
While the top spots on the global indices have been broadly stable, certain lower ranked cities have seen an upswing in their fortunes: Mumbai and Seoul are Asia’s most improved cities since 2010.
The report, the fourth developed by the Business of Cities, assembles the widest comparative studies on city performance to date, analysing data on indicators such as business and finance, economic growth, quality of life, and a city’s brand, reputation and influence.
Greg Clark, Chairman of The Business of Cities and JLL’s Cities Research Center, said: “It has never been more important to understand city performance.
“The ability of cities to attract investment, manage their growth, and deliver quality of life will define the character and ultimately the success of what the OECD calls the ‘metropolitan century’.”
The Metropolitan Century, a report published by the OECD in February 2015, provides an outline of recent and likely future urbanisation trends.
“In aggregate, benchmarks and indices can offer real insight into the pathways and strategic opportunities for cities, and for those living and working in them,” added Clark.
