ACS Strategic Design

Amsterdam, Netherlands

Amsterdam is the financial and business capital of the Netherlands. Amsterdam is currently one of the best European cities in which to locate an international business. It is ranked fifth in this category and is only surpassed by London, Paris, Frankfurt and Barcelona. Many large corporations and banks have their headquarters in Amsterdam, including Akzo Nobel, Heineken International, ING Group, Ahold, TomTom, Delta Lloyd Group and Philips. KPMG International’s global headquarters is located in nearby Amstelveen, where many non-Dutch companies have settled as well, because surrounding communities allow full land ownership, contrary to Amsterdam’s land-lease system. Though many small offices are still located on the old canals, companies are increasingly relocating outside the city centre. The Zuidas has become the new financial and legal hub. The five largest law firms of the Netherlands, a number of Dutch subsidiaries of large consulting firms like Boston Consulting Group and Accenture, and the World Trade Center Amsterdam are also located in Zuidas. The Amsterdam Stock Exchange (AEX), now part of Euronext, is the world’s oldest stock exchange and is one of Europe’s largest bourses.

Boston, MA

A global city, Boston is placed among the top 30 most economically powerful cities in the world. The Greater Boston metropolitan area has the sixth-largest economy in the country and 12th-largest in the world. Boston’s colleges and universities have a significant effect on the regional economy, with students contributing to the city’s economy. The area’s schools are major employers and attract industries to the city and surrounding region. The city is home to a number of technology companies and is a hub for biotechnology, with the Milken Institute rating Boston as the top life sciences cluster in the country. Boston receives the highest absolute amount of annual funding from the National Institutes of Health of all cities in the United States. The city is also considered highly innovative for a variety of reasons that include the presence of academia, access to venture capital, and the presence of many high-tech companies. Tourism comprises a large part of Boston’s economy, with 21.2 million domestic and international visitors each year. Because of Boston’s status as a state capital and the regional home of federal agencies, law and government are another major component of the city’s economy. The city is a major seaport along the United States’ East Coast and the oldest continuously operated industrial and fishing port in the Western Hemisphere. Other important industries are financial services, especially mutual funds and insurance. Boston-based Fidelity Investments helped popularize the mutual fund and has made Boston one of the top financial cities in the United States. The city is home to the headquarters of Santander Bank, and Boston is a center for venture capital firms. State Street Corporation, which specializes in asset management and custody services, is based in the city. Boston is a printing and publishing center – Houghton Mifflin is headquartered within the city, along with Bedford-St. Martin’s Press and Beacon Press. Pearson PLC publishing units also employ several hundred people in Boston. The city is home to three major convention centers – the Hynes Convention Center in the Back Bay, and the Seaport World Trade Center and Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on the South Boston waterfront.

Hong Kong, China

As one of the world’s leading international financial centres, Hong Kong has a major capitalist service economy characterised by low taxation and free trade. The currency, Hong Kong dollar, is the eighth most traded currency in the world. Hong Kong was once described by Milton Friedman as the world’s greatest experiment in laissez-faire capitalism, but has since instituted a regime of regulations including a minimum wage. It maintains a highly developed capitalist economy, ranked the freest in the world by the Index of Economic Freedom. It is an important centre for international finance and trade, with one of the greatest concentrations of corporate headquarters in the Asia-Pacific region, and is known as one of the Four Asian Tigers for its high growth rates and rapid development. The Hong Kong Stock Exchange is the seventh largest in the world, with a market capitalisation of US$2.3 trillion. Hong Kong raised 22 percent of worldwide initial public offering (IPO) capital, making it the largest centre of IPOs in the world and the easiest place to raise capital. The Hong Kong dollar has been pegged to the U.S. dollar since 1983. The Hong Kong Government has traditionally played a mostly passive role in the economy, with little by way of industrial policy and almost no import or export controls. Market forces and the private sector were allowed to determine practical development.

Orlando, FL

The City of Orlando is an international business center. A bustling downtown draws businesses of all types and is especially strong in its ability to attract corporate headquarters. Some of those that have selected downtown Orlando include BBA Aviation, Signature Flight Services, CuraScript and Indra Systems, Inc. The city’s potential has only begun to be realized. Numerous major multi-use commercial projects are on the drawing board. An unprecedented level of office development is planned for downtown Orlando. All told, more than one million additional square feet of construction has been announced for the downtown business district. But, downtown Orlando is more than just business. Ten public and private secondary schools, all noted for excellence and innovative teaching, bring schoolchildren of all socio-economic realms into our downtown on a daily basis. Downtown is also alive with higher education. In addition to its downtown center that specializes in continuing education, the University of Central Florida’s Interactive Entertainment Academy’s (FIEA) state-of-the-art facilities and faculty train graduate-level game developers on an innovative campus once housed the City’s local expo center. UCF is also planning an expanded downtown campus to enhance educational opportunities for students which will further energize downtown. Florida A&M’s Law School opened in downtown Orlando in fall 2002. Florida State University’s Medical School has a regional campus in Delaney Park, just south of downtown, where third and fourth year medical students complete their training through involvement with two of the nation’s largest healthcare systems, both of which are also located in downtown Orlando. Valencia College also has a downtown Orlando campus.

San Diego, CA

The largest sectors of San Diego’s economy are defense/military, tourism, international trade, and research/manufacturing, respectively. The economy of San Diego is influenced by its deepwater port, which includes the only major submarine and shipbuilding yards on the West Coast. Several major national defense contractors were started and are headquartered in San Diego, including General Atomics, Cubic, and NASSCO. San Diego hosts the largest naval fleet in the world: it is home to 53 ships, over 120 tenant commands, and more than 35,000 sailors, soldiers, Department of Defense civilian employees and contractors. About 5 percent of all civilian jobs in the county are military-related, and 15,000 businesses in San Diego County rely on Department of Defense contracts.