fDi Asia-Pacific Cities of the Future 2011/12

Singapore ranks top in Asia-Pacific Cities of the Future 2011/12 ranking.

Singapore retains its position at the top of fDiMagazine’s Asia-Pacific Cities of the Future ranking. It has held on to first place in the 2011/12 ranking, ahead of Shanghai and Seoul. The ranking focuses on a mixture of data and expert opinion to rank cities which have the best prospects for inward investment, economic development and business expansion. Singapore scored well in all categories, and was placed in the top five for economic potential, business friendliness and human resources, while claiming the top position for infrastructure and FDI strategy.

Chinese cities performed particularly well, but the effects of recession and natural disaster have seen Tokyo fall from second place to ninth. Shanghai is ranked in second place and topped the economic potential and human resources categories, performing notably strongly in the business friendliness category.

Seoul finished third in the ranking, up from fifth place in the Asia-Pacific Cities of the Future 2009/10 list. The South Korean capital performed well in the infrastructure and human resources categories.

Highlights include:-

• Singapore's GDP per capita is one of the highest among the cities in the ranking, while its productivity is forecast to grow by more than 4% annually over the next five years. The city attracted 327 greenfield FDI projects in 2010 according to data from fDi Markets; an increase of 20% on the previous year.

• Shanghai has attracted more greenfield FDI than any other in the Asia-Pacific region.

• Seoul is the best connected city in the competition, with direct flights to 130 international destinations. The city has a large student population.

• Chinese cities performed well in the competition; besides Shanghai in second place, Shenzhen and Beijing also made it into the top 10 in fourth and seventh place, respectively. 
• Taiwan capital Taipei is ranked fifth in the Asia-Pacific Cities of the Future 2011/12 list, due in part to its high productivity, healthy export growth and a good track record as both a source and destination for FDI. Taipei has attracted 248 greenfield FDI projects since 2003 according to fDiMarkets and has been the source of 603 projects over the same period.

• Hong Kong came sixth overall and scored particularly well in the economic potential, business friendliness and FDI strategy categories. Hong Kong is in second place overall for the amount of greenfield FDI attracted adjusted for location size.

• Tokyo has fallen from second place in the Asia-Pacific Cities of the Future 2009/10 ranking but remains in the top 10, in ninth place. While damage from the earthquake and tsunami caused a drop in some Japanese cities' FDI performance, the likes of Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto and Sapporo still scored highly for infrastructure.

• Australian cities performed well in terms of foreign investment; year-on-year FDI projects increased by one-third in Melbourne, by 25% in Sydney and by about 40% in Brisbane. Australia and New   Zealand dominate the quality of life category.

• Phnom Penh in Cambodia is the most cost-effective location in the ranking, followed by Hai Phong and Da Nang of Vietnam.

• Rayong in Thailand is a notably strong performer for cost-effectiveness. Its low industrial rents and labour costs have helped the city attract 180 greenfield FDI projects between 2003 and 2011, the highest amount of FDI for cities of its size in the competition.

• Busan and Incheon in South Korea are new additions to the Asia-Pacific Cities of the Future 2011/12 ranking, both scoring well in the FDI strategy category. Both are proactive in FDI promotion and offer investors a favourable investment climate, skilled workforce and good infrastructure.

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For further information please contact Jay Seenundun, jay.seenundun@ft.comor +44(0)20 7775 6896 for the full report. The full results are available on www.fDiIntelligence.com/Locations/Asia-Pacific/Asia-Pacific-Cities-of-the-Future-2011-12– please register to download the full results for free. 

Notes to editors

About fDi Asia-Pacific  Cities of the Future 2011/12

• fDiIntelligence compiled most of the data for the fDiAsia-Pacific Cities of the Future 2011/12 ranking with the exception of the FDI Strategy. For this category information was submitted by individual countries and scored by fDi’s independent judging panel.

• Methodology: fDiCities of the Future shortlists are created by an independent collection of data by fDiBenchmark across 141 Asia-Pacific cities. This information was set under six categories: economic potential, human resources, cost-effectiveness, quality of life, infrastructure and business friendliness. A seventh category was added to the scoring – FDI promotion strategy. In this category, 32 Asia-Pacific cities submitted details about their promotion strategy and this was judged and scored by our independent judging panel.

• Full results available on www.fDiIntelligence.com/Locations/Asia-Pacific/Asia-Pacific-Cities-of-the-Future-2011-12and in fDiMagazine – December 2011/January 2012 issue.

About fDi Intelligence

• fDiIntelligence, from The Financial Times Ltd, is the leading provider of foreign direct investment intelligence. The portfolio encompasses world-class products, services and business tools that allow companies and economic development organisations alike to make informed decisions regarding foreign direct investment. 

• Products within the portfolio include, fDiMarkets, a database tracking crossborder greenfield investment on a real-time basis; fDiBenchmark, which benchmarks global locations on their attractiveness to foreign investors; and fDi Magazine.

• www.fDiIntelligence.com

About The Financial Times

• The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organisations, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing extensive news, comment and analysis, FT.com is the definitive home for business intelligence on the web, providing an essential source of news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community.

Referencing

Please state the source as fDiMagazine from The Financial Times Ltd.