EmpireCLS News

2008 MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index

07/07/2008

At EmpireCLS, much of our business comes from passengers traveling to and from airports in over 650 cities worldwide.  We understand that knowing the landscape of a global economy is key to getting ahead in challenging times.  When we came across the 2008 MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index, we knew it was valuable information and we wanted to share it with our clients.  In addition to providing the complete ranking below, we have also provided snapshots that focus on more specific results.

The 2008 MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index is a ranking of the top 75 cities that drive global commerce.  Against a backdrop of economics, sociology, and urban studies, cities are evaluated across 7 dimensions: Legal and Political Framework, Economic Stability, Ease of Doing Business, Financial Flow, Business Center, Knowledge Creation and Information Flow, and Livability. 

While regional rankings favored Europe, the United States is the only country to have  two cities in the top ten (New York and Chicago). However, as a result of the widening global economy, the United States had many downward moves among cities, most notably Washington, D.C. and Houston. 

There were also many newcomers this year.  The 2007 report examined 63 cities but only ranked 50.  In 2008, not only were an additional 12 cities added, but all 75 were published in the ranking.  Surprisingly, the highest ranked newly published city to enter the list was Philadelphia, coming in at the 18^th position overall and 4^th among U.S. cities (just one below Los Angeles which slid this year from 10^th to 17^th).

For more in depth information, please click on the following link to access the full report: http://www.mastercard.com/us/company/en/insights.

The Top 10 Worldwide

1. London
2. New York
3. Tokyo
4. Singapore
5. Chicago
6. Hong Kong
7. Paris
8. Frankfurt
9. Seoul
10. Amsterdam

Top 10 U.S.

1. New York – 2 (rank)
2. Chicago – 5
3. Los Angeles – 17
4. Philadelphia – 18
5. Boston – 21
6. Atlanta – 25
7. San Francisco – 28
8. Miami – 29
9. Houston – 34
10. Dallas – 35

Regional Rankings

1. Europe

                        London – 1 (rank)

                        Paris – 7

                        Frankfurt – 10

                        Amsterdam – 10

                        Madrid – 11

                                    Average = 7.8

2. Asia/Pacific, Middle East, and Africa

                        Tokyo – 3

                        Singapore – 4

                        Hong Kong – 6

                        Seoul – 9

                        Sydney – 12

                                    Average = 8.8

3. North America

                        New York – 2

                        Chicago – 5

                        Toronto – 13

                        Los Angeles – 17

                        Philadelphia – 18

                                    Average = 11

4. Latin America and Caribbean Cities

                        Santiago – 53

                        Mexico – 54

                        Sao Paulo – 56

                        Bogota – 62

                        Buenes Aires – 63

                                    Average = 57.6

Top Gainers (only of cities also ranked in 2007)

1. Gained 8 Positions

Shanghai – from 32 to 24 (rank)

2. Gained 5 Positions

Madrid – from 16 to 11

Milan – from 25 to 20

3. Gained 4 Positions

Zurich – from 19 to 15

Vienna – from 30 to 26

Top Losers (only of cities also ranked in 2007)

1. Lost 14 Positions

Santiago – from 39 to 53

2. Lost 13 Positions

Washington, D.C. – from 23 to 36

3. Lost 12 Positions

Houston – from 22 to 34

Kuala Lumpur – from 38 to 50

Budapest – from 40 to 52

Mexico City – from 42 to 54

Top 3 Cities within each Dimension of Evaluation

1. Legal and Political Framework

                        Stockholm

                        Singapore

                        Copenhagen

2. Economic Stability

                        Vienna

                        Barcelona, Madrid

                        Lisbon

3. Ease of Doing Business

                        Singapore

                        Hong Kong

                        London

4. Financial Flow

                        London

                        New York

                        Frankfurt

5. Business Center

                        Hong Kong

                        London

                        Singapore

6. Knowledge Creation and Information Flow

                        London

                        New York

                        Tokyo

7. Livability

                        Vancouver

                        Dusseldorf

                        San Francisco

Top 75 Worldwide Centers of Commerce

1. London – United Kingdom
2. New York – United States
3. Tokyo – Japan
4. Singapore – Singapore
5. Chicago – United States
6. Hong Kong – China
7. Paris – France
8. Frankfurt – Germany
9. Seoul – South Korea
10. Amsterdam – Netherlands
11. Madrid – Spain
12. Sydney – Australia
13. Toronto – Canada
14. Copenhagen – Denmark
15. Zurich – Switzerland
16. Stockholm – Sweden
17. Los Angeles – United States
18. Philadelphia – United States
19. Osaka – Japan
20. Milan – Italy
21. Boston – United States
22. Taipei – Taiwan
23. Berlin – Germany
24. Shanghai – China
25. Atlanta – United States
26. Vienna – Austria
27. Munich – Germany
28. San Francisco – United States
29. Miami – United States
30. Brussels – Belgium
31. Dublin – Ireland
32. Montreal – Canada
33. Hamburg – Germany
34. Houston – United States
35. Dallas – United States
36. Washington, D.C. – United States
37. Vancouver – Canada
38. Barcelona – Spain
39. Dusseldorf – Germany
40. Geneva – Switzerland
41. Melbourne – Australia
42. Bangkok – Thailand
43. Edinburgh – United Kingdom
44. Dubai – United Arab Emirates
45. Tel Aviv – Israel
46. Lisbon – Portugal
47. Rome – Italy
48. Mumbai – India
49. Prague – Czech Republic
50. Kuala Lumpur – Malaysia
51. Moscow – Russia
52. Budapest – Hungary
53. Santiago – Chile
54. Mexico City – Mexico
55. Athens – Greece
56. Sao Paulo – Brazil
57. Beijing – China
58. Johannesburg – South Africa
59. Warsaw – Poland
60. Shenzhen – China
61. New Delhi – India
62. Bogota – Colombia
63. Buenos Aires – Argentina
64. Istanbul – Turkey
65. Rio de Janeiro – Brazil
66. Bangalore – India
67. St. Petersburg – Russia
68. Jakarta – Indonesia
69. Riyadh – Saudi Arabia
70. Cairo – Egypt
71. Manila – Philippines
72. Chengdu – China
73. Chongqing – China
74. Beirut – Lebanon
75. Caracas – Venezuela