Asia Pacific cities demonstrate continued resilience in a world of risk finds Kearney

• Five APAC cities dominate the top 10 spots in Kearney’s Global Cities Index, with Singapore and Shanghai entering the top five and top 10 lists respectively
• Kearney’s Global Cities Outlook this year exhibited significant dynamism with emerging hubs continuing to rise in hopes of rivaling the dominance of established leaders

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach Newswire – 22 October 2024 – Kearney’s 2024 Global Cities Report reveals the strong performance of Asia Pacific (APAC) cities on the Global Cities Index (GCI), a ranking of the world’s most internationally connected and influential cities. APAC cities including Tokyo, Singapore, Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong dominate the top 10 spots in the GCI, with Singapore and Shanghai entering into the top five and top 10 rankings respectively, demonstrating significant improvements.

Kearney’s latest report highlights that a new form of globalization is emerging, one that is more diversified, increasingly digital, and vastly uncertain in the near term. With shifts in the global geopolitical and macroeconomic landscape bringing the decline of globalization by traditional measures, the performance of global cities signals the emergence of a next wave of global connectivity and exchange.

Global Cities Index

The GCI measures the connectivity of cities across five dimensions including business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement, underpinned by 31 metrics. This year’s GCI introduced new metrics to reflect the macro changes in the global operating environment, including measures of digital readiness and human mobility. Global cities have showcased remarkable resilience, with average scores rising across every dimension.

Singapore overtook Beijing to take the fifth position this year, jumping from seventh place in last year’s GCI, due to a boost in the business activity dimension, its success in the human capital dimension, a near perfect score in the ease of entry metric, and strong digital capabilities. Meanwhile, Shanghai’s leap to eighth place was attributed to the inclusion of the new information exchange metrics, with the Chinese tech center ranked second globally for internet speed and eighth globally for data center presence.

Top 10 cities in the 2024 Global Cities Index are:

1. New York
2. London
3. Paris
4. Tokyo
5. Singapore
6. Beijing
7. Los Angeles
8. Shanghai
9. Hong Kong
10. Chicago

Within APAC, Southeast Asian cities also recorded remarkable progress in the wider ranking, with Kuala Lumpur jumping 17 places to claim the 55^th spot, while Bangkok took the 34^th spot, a jump from 45^th place last year. Notably, Kuala Lumpur’s position was shaped by increases in nearly all dimensions, with significant rises in business activity and human capital, including strong performance in the new ease of entry metric. Additionally, Bangkok’s performance was attributed to improvements in dimensions such as business activity, cultural experience, and information exchange.

“The continued success of key APAC cities this year highlights their adaptability, and the ability to remain responsive and resilient in the face of the shifting distribution of globalization, to emerge as globally connected as ever. Leading cities in the region have risen through the ranks bolstered by their steadfast leadership in digital capabilities, further highlighting the central importance of the digital economy in today’s world,” comments Shigeru Sekinada, Region Chair of Asia Pacific and Managing Director of Japan, Kearney.

Global Cities Outlook

While the GCI captures the current state of global city leadership, the Global Cities Outlook (GCO) aims to identify those cities most likely to achieve global prominence in the future. This year, the outlook exhibited significant dynamism with emerging hubs continuing to rise in hopes of rivaling the dominance of established leaders. San Francisco, Munich, Copenhagen, Luxembourg, and Seoul topped the list.

European cities continue to perform strongly on the GCO, but like the GCI, APAC cities have also recorded improvements, with Seoul, Tokyo, Osaka, and Perth jumping in places, solidifying their future status as global hubs. Meanwhile, Asian cities such as Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Surabaya, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh City, Seoul, Osaka, and Yokohama, have seen elevated Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) rankings, a key metric of the GCO, as companies look to diversify their business as part of the China Plus One strategy.

A look ahead: regenerative cities

While the results of Kearney’s 2024 Global Cities Report have demonstrated how global cities have adapted to geoeconomic pressures, they also face growing environmental challenges exacerbated by climate change. Climate disasters have caused significant financial losses, and cities—being major consumers of energy and producers of greenhouse gas emissions—are both victims of and contributors to these issues.

“Amidst the threat of climate change, cities have a responsibility and an opportunity to seek solutions to counter the climate crisis. To do so, they must shift their perspective toward being more systems-oriented and proactive, adopting a regenerative approach. A regenerative mindset involves cities implementing collaborative decision-making and integrated governance, empowering the next generation to prosper, and developing a proactive and cohesive sustainability strategy. This will enable cities to address the challenges of today and tomorrow holistically, and for the benefit of all,” concluded Mr Sekinada.

Note to editor

The GCI assesses how globally engaged cities are across five dimensions: business activity, human capital, information exchange, cultural experience, and political engagement. The GCO, on the other hand, examines how cities are creating the conditions for future status as major global players. This analysis covers four dimensions—personal well-being, economics, innovation, and governance—which are the key determinants of a city’s ability to attract talented human capital, generate economic growth, increase competitiveness, and ensure stability and security.

While the GCI quantifies the current state of urban centers, the GCO is a measure of how these same cities are ensuring that they can retain – or augment – their global city status in the future. The GCO is designed to spotlight not only the well-established leaders, but also those cities that may be best positioned—thanks to strategic investments in future performance—to challenge their supremacy.

Link to the full report here

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