Economy
International execs smile on mainland cities
By Yu Ran (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-02-24 07:36
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'No one knows how long the party is going to last' developer
SHANGHAI: China's economic growth amid a global recession in 2009 helped catapult Shanghai and Beijing to the forefront of the most attractive cities for international business people, according to a survey of more than 500 top managers of multinational enterprises.
The survey, conducted by the international accounting firm KPMG and Greater Paris Investment Agency, a French trade organization, ranked Shanghai as the second-most favorable city after London. Hong Kong, a perennial favorite, was third on the list and Beijing came in fifth.
The results of the survey stirred debate among Chinese business people who said they were surprised by the high ranking of the mainland cities.
"I'm a bit surprised that Shanghai was ranked as the second-most attractive city in the world, because I don't think Shanghai has built up a sufficiently business-friendly regulatory environment to compete with cities such as New York, Tokyo or Singapore," said Lin Song, a property developer from Nantong, Jiangsu province. "Although the economy is booming in Shanghai, no one knows how long the party is going to last."
The survey was largely conducted by telephone calls or e-mails to 512 executives, including chief financial officers, commercial directors, and investment managers of corporations based in 22 cities across 20 countries, including London, Barcelona, Istanbul and Mumbai.
"We're keen to ask those questions on how the interviewees see the global image, the evolution and global trend in investment of those cities we've listed," Ingrid Pinchot, project manager of KPMG in Paris, told China Daily in a telephone interview.
According to the survey, London is the most attractive city due to its political stability and bullish economic situation, while New York is seen as mired in ongoing trouble by the credit crisis that broke out in 2008.
"I'm not very surprised by the ranking because the Expo is coming. Everybody in Europe, where I've just visited, was talking about China, particularly Shanghai," Rupert Hoogewerf, the chairman of Hurun Report, commented on the survey.
"I attended a meeting on the growth of the private sector in Luxemburg during my last business trip and lots of investors paid great attention to the growth in China, especially Shanghai," Hoogewerf said about his recent experiences.
Shanghai has edged into the top five in several national surveys held in China. According to China's city competitiveness ranking issued in 2009, Shanghai was third overall, while Hong Kong and Shenzhen scored higher. Shanghai also appeared in the top 20 cities with the highest cost of living in the world. On the other hand, Shanghai failed to get into the top 50 with a No 88 global ranking for quality of life, established by a US consultant company last year.
"I think Shanghai can be potentially used as a window for people to invest in China," Hoogewerf said.
