San Francisco took first place, followed by New York, London and Paris.
The Global Cities Outlook – developed by US management consultancy AT Kearney – assesses a city’s future potential based on the speed of change for 13 leading indicators across 4 parameters: personal well-being, economics, innovation and governance.
Singapore’s most vital increase in rating was in economics and management, during which it ranked second overall. AT Kearney attributed this to the town’s strength as a “stable and progressive economy” that might fuel further foreign direct investment and personal investment.
For the second yr in a row, Singapore stays the leader in online presence, marking some success of the federal government’s “Smart Nation” program.
Public-private sector partnerships, business initiatives, research and development, in addition to major investments in information and security were identified as contributing aspects.
Chua Soon Ghee, head of Southeast Asia at AT Kearney, said: “The Singapore government is actively investing to transform the island nation into a ‘smart city’ equipped with cutting-edge technology and a nationwide digital platform. Various investments from the private sector have also strengthened Singapore’s path to a smart nation.”
“In today’s digital age, this is an important factor in increasing the attractiveness of Singapore for companies that choose the city-state as their regional headquarters. Moreover, a high level of preparedness, both in terms of physical and cyber security, provides businesses with a good level of confidence.”
The island nation can also be the one city within the Asia-Pacific region to feature in the highest 10 of the Global Cities Index and Global Cities Outlook lists, giving it the coveted “Global Elite” status.
Only the highest 25 cities from each lists can boast such prestige.
The Global Cities Index analyzes the present performance of 135 cities based on 27 indicators covering five criteria, namely business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience and political engagement.
After falling from sixth position within the previous yr, Singapore secured seventh place within the index rating.
New York, London, Paris, Tokyo and Hong Kong remain in the highest five of this yr’s world city index, with Los Angeles taking sixth place.
