Most Economically Influential Cities in Southeast Asia 2020

London (UK) has been recognized as the 10th most economically influential cities in the world according to a new report titled “Cities Of Economic Influence Index,” from CEO World, which ranked 100 powerful cities in the world based on their competitiveness as a major urban centre. 

New York is a reasonably close second, with 83.49 points, Tokyo, which has the world’s largest metro economy, is third with 82.59 points.

Paris is fourth with 81.65 points, narrowly besting Singapore, which has 80.66. Berlin, Shanghai, Brussels, New Delhi, and Toronto round out the top ten. The remainder of the top 20 include Washington DC (11th); Sydney (12th); Sao Paulo (18th); four European cities, Moscow (13th), Zurich (17th), Amsterdam (19th), and Istanbul (20th); and three Asian cities Dubai (14th), Riyadh (15th), and Tel Aviv (16th).

According to the report, the Cities Of Economic Influence Index is based on five core indices, including:

1. Economic Power (overall economic activity)
2. Financial Clout (strength of a city’s finance and banking industries)
3. People and Political (political and demographic influence)
4. Quality of Life (productivity, infrastructure, quality of life, equity and social inclusion and environmental sustainability)
5. Competitiveness (business activity, human capital, cultural experience, and political engagement)

To find which city came out on top, CEO Wold calculated a city’s total score across these five indices.

Interestingly, the report found, “the top 100 cities generate roughly half of the globe’s total economic output and the top twenty-five accounts for more than 30% of global economic production.”

In Southeast Asia, Singapore tops the list (5th globally) followed by Indonesia on distant second (21st), Kuala L:umpur 3rd ( 74th),  Bangkok 4th (80th), Hanoi 5th (83rd), and Manila 6th (86th)