Top 50 Cities for Business 2007
according to the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index™
Jun 13, 2007
New York City in the Unitd States of America used to be the number one city for business but it lost out to London England this year in MasterCard's study.
Table: Top 50 Cities for Business
Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong led the team of economists to develop this list. London came in first with an index value of 77.79 followed by New York with 73.80, Tokyo at 68.09, Chicago with 67.19, Hong Kong at 62.32, Singapore 61.95, Frankfurt 61.34, Paris 61.19, Seoul 60.70 and Los Angeles 59.05.
The top 10 cities for Business as ranked by the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index™ are
- London
- New York
- Tokyo
- Chicago
- Hong Kong
- Singapore
- Frankfurt
- Paris
- Seoul
- Los Angeles
My home town, San Francisco, came in at number eighteen.
The top city in the Middle East was Dubai in 37th place.
For the full list of the Top fifty, see:
Ranking Methodology: According to their website, www.mastercard.com, "The MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index aims to rank the world's top cities in terms of their performance as centers of commerce in the global economy."
- Legal and political frameworks (10%) - Degree to which legal and political frameworks enable the emergence of a Global Center of Commerce.
- Economic stability (10%) - Degree to which a Center of Commerce is handicapped by an unstable economic environment, currency, or unpredictable inflation.
- Ease of doing business (20%) - Availability of quality, cost-competitive trade logistics; level of interconnectedness; and ability to attract and retain talent due to a high quality of living.
- Financial flow (22%) - Measurement of the city's actual output or financial achievement.
- Business center (22%) - Degree to which the city intermediates the flow of goods, services, people, finances and information, etc.
- Knowledge creation and information flow (16%) - Degree to which information flows freely and knowledge is generated.
According to Bloomberg.com:
"The U.S. will lose its place as the world's leading financial center in the next decade without legal and regulatory changes, according to report in January commissioned by New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Senator Charles Schumer. The total amount of money raised in Europe so far this year is 78 percent greater than the value of U.S. offerings, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, as stricter financial-reporting requirements in New York deter some companies from listing."
Conflict of interest Note: Michael Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News and parent Bloomberg LP.
In March of 2007, the City of London commissioned a study that concluded New York's regulation as the key reason for lagging behind its European rival as the world's top financial center. Many, including Michal Bloomberg, claim the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002 is hurting the ability for the United States to attract capital for new investment.
