KEY POINTS:
London has come out top of an index developed by a panel of leading economists to rank the best cities to do business.
Next in the top five are New York, Tokyo, Chicago and Hong Kong.
The list, The Worldwide Centres of Commerce index, was compiled for MasterCard and released overnight.
It rounds out the top ten cities with Singapore, Frankfurt, Paris, Seoul and Los Angeles.
The index analysed each city under six different categories, ranging from legal and political framework to ease of doing business and economic stability.
The index found:
* London is the world's leading centre of Commerce. It ranked highly on its flexible operating environment for business, strong global financial connections and exceptionally high levels of international trade, travel and conferences.
* New York, once seen as the unchallenged financial capital of the world, loses its top rank mainly because London has a higher financial flow of capital. The volatility of the US dollar also affected its position.
* Chicago emerged strongly, partly on the back of its world class universities and its commodities and financial markets.
* Canadian cities grabbed the top spots as the easiest places in the world for doing business - Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver.
* The Spanish capital, Madrid, is emerging as a financial leader, ranking number 16 globally. It is the entry point for South American businesses to Europe.
* There is a strong divide between West and East Europe. The lowest Western European city, Rome, is still nearly equal to eastern Europe's best, Budapest.
* Tokyo's powerhouse economy gives it top ranking in Asia pacific.
* Three one-time "Asian Tigers" make the top ten. Hong Kong, Singapore and Seoul all rank among the top 10 Centres of Commerce. Seoul ranked highly for its higher education system and patent output while Hong Kong and Singapore boast top rankings for the strength of their business climate.
* Dubai, the Middle East's air and cargo traffic hub, ranks top in its region.
* The report notes that Lain America is increasingly becoming more global and competitive.
The index was developed by a panel of eight independent economic, urban development and social-science experts.
"The trend of commerce becoming more knowledge-driven and less tangible has actually elevated the role of today's cities, positioning them as the hubs of complex circuits that fuel the globalized economy and provide connections through which true global commerce takes place," said Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, Economic Advisor, MasterCard Worldwide.
- NZHERALD STAFF
