Locations

Abu Dhabi, UAE

The UAE’s large hydrocarbon wealth gives it one of the highest GDP per capita in the world and Abu Dhabi owns the majority of these resources, 95% of the oil and 6% of gas. Abu Dhabi thus holds 9% of the world’s proven oil reserves (98.2bn barrels) and almost 5% of the world’s natural gas (5.8 trillion cu metres). Oil production in the UAE is in the region of 2.3m barrels per day (bpd), and projects are in progress to boost production to 3m bpd. In recent years the focus has turned to gas as increasing domestic consumption for power, desalination and re-injection of gas into oil fields increases demand. Recently the government has been diversifying their economic plans. Served by high oil prices, the country’s non-oil and gas GDP has outstripped that attributable to the energy sector. Remarkably, non-oil and gas GDP now constitutes 64% of the UAE’s total GDP. This trend is reflected in Abu Dhabi with substantial new investment in industry, real estate, tourism and retail.

Albuquerque, NM

The largest city in New Mexico, Albuquerque is also its economic center; it accounts for nearly half of the state’s economic activity. Part of its success can be attributed to a diverse economic base consisting of government, services, trade, agriculture, tourism, manufacturing, and research and development. In 2004 Forbes magazine ranked Albuquerque the 12th best city in the nation for doing business. The Rio Grande River valley contains rich farm and pasture lands that support a sizable food industry, based mainly on fruit and produce, in the Albuquerque area. Since its early years as a stop on the Santa Fe Trail, the city has been a transportation and service center. Albuquerque is also home to more than 700 manufacturing firms—many of them located in well-planned industrial parks—that produce such goods as trailers, food products, electronic components, neon and electric signs, hardware, and machine tools. Among the major manufacturing firms that call Albuquerque home are Intel, GE, and General Mills. The Rio Grande Research Corridor, a constellation of high-technology industries, sprang up in the wake of the development of nuclear research during and after World War II. Each year, more than $4 billion is spent on research and development in the region. The area’s major employers are part of this complex. Sandia National Laboratories, a government research and development lab, is involved in laser technology and solar energy. Kirtland U.S. Air Force Base, the area’s largest employer and the sixth-largest military base in the world, is a weapons research center. In 2004, the value of the base’s economic impact to Albuquerque was $3.3 billion. For nearly a century people have valued Albuquerque for its dry air, which is especially beneficial to those with respiratory problems. Today the city’s medical services and facilities are a vital part of the local economy. The year-round sunny weather attracts pleasure seekers as well; more than four million tourists visit Albuquerque each year, to ski the Sandia Mountains and to absorb the city’s rich ethnic heritage. Items and goods produced: machine tools, fabricated structural steel, furniture, hardware, textiles, paints, varnishes, fertilizers, scientific instruments, electronic equipment, neon and electric signs, native American jewelry and curios.

Alexandria, VA

Though Alexandria is now an independent city, it was at one point a part of Washington D.C. The city is less than 10 miles from the District of Colombia and its economy is closely connected with the federal government in Washington, and it will continue to be in the future. The largest employers in Alexandria are federal government operations such as the Defense Department. Many of the private sector operations in the city also cater to government needs. Ultimately, activities of the federal government drive the economy of Alexandria, much like they drive the economies of other cities surrounding the District. As a result, the economic future of Alexandria will largely depend on how much the federal government grows in the coming years. Economists in the Washington D.C. area have stressed the importance of developing greater economic diversity in the region. In particular, the focus should be on developing streams of revenue that extend outside of the area. The reasoning is that the current economy in the Washington metro is heavily dependent on federal spending which can be inconsistent and irregular as the 2013 government shutdown demonstrated. Economic development specialists in the region are working on attracting and retaining companies in advanced industries with high research and development requirements. The Washington region as a whole has the human strengths necessary to maintain a high-tech STEM industry. In fact, there are signs that a new tech industry is slowly taking root in the District itself. The city of Alexandria, itself, will find it difficult to replicate the success of Washington D.C. Currently, the cost of living in Alexandria is far higher than both the national and state averages. The largest reason for this is real estate, though both transportation and food costs are higher than average. The high costs of the area combined with the lack of a high-tech cluster in Alexandria will make it difficult for the city to attract advanced industry to the city. Generally speaking, the private sector in Alexandria is not that large relative to other cities. The private companies that do operate in the city tend to be in the professional services, catering to the needs of the federal government. It is possible that Alexandria will be able to diversify through businesses that spillover from Washington D.C. However, until then there is not a compelling business reason to choose Alexandria over other cities at this time. Ultimately, Alexandria will likely continue being a prosperous city that benefits from its proximity to Washington D.C. It has a great deal of culture, and the people that make up the city come from diverse backgrounds. The city was not terribly affected by the Great Recession and its unemployment rate has fallen to 3.6%. As long as the government maintains its current levels of activity, Alexandria will remain an appealing city for professionals seeking high-quality jobs that cater to the federal government.

Amman, Jordan

The banking sector is one of the principal foundations of Jordan’s economy. Despite the unrest and economic difficulties in the Arab world resulting from the Arab Springuprisings, Jordan’s banking sector maintained its growth in 2014. The sector currently consists of 25 banks, 15 of which are listed on the Amman Stock Exchange. Amman is the base city for the international Arab Bank, one of the largest financial institutions in the Middle East, serving clients in more than 600 branches in 30 countries on five continents. Arab Bank represents 28% of the Amman Stock Exchange and is the highest-ranked institution by market capitalization on the exchange. Amman is the 4th most visited Arab city and the ninth highest recipient of international visitor spending. Roughly 1.8 million tourists visited Amman in 2011 and spent over $1.3 billion in the city. The expansion of Queen Alia International Airport is an example of the Greater Amman Municipality’s heavy investment in the city’s infrastructure. The recent construction of a public transportation system and a national railway, and the expansion of roads, are intended to ease the traffic generated by the millions of annual visitors to the city. Amman, and Jordan in general, is the Middle East’s hub for medical tourism. Jordan receives the most medical tourists in the region and the fifth highest in the world. Amman receives 250,000 foreign patients a year and over $1 billion annually. Amman is introducing itself as a business hub. The city’s skyline is being continuously transformed through the emergence of new projects. A significant portion of business flowed into Amman following the 2003 Iraq War. Jordan’s main airport, Queen Alia International Airport, is located south of Amman and is the hub for the country’s national carrier Royal Jordanian, a major airline in the region. The airline is headquartered in Zahran district. Rubicon Group Holding and Maktoob, two major regional information technology companies, are based in Amman, along with major international corporations such as Hikma Pharmaceuticals, one of the Middle East’s largest pharmaceutical companies, and Aramex, the Middle East’s largest logistics and transportation company.

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.

Anaheim, CA

Although known for its beaches and Disneyland, Orange county has evolved into a burgeoning center of business, finance and education. It is home to 30 major and smaller universities and professional schools which train thousands of students each year. UCI, Chapman University are two of the world renowned schools in the area known for both their undergraduate, but their law schools as well. Anaheim has continued to be a major magnet for tourism with several theme parks and employer of thousands of people. The accompanying hotels, restaurants and entertainment venues are a major driver of the local economy. Banking, financial planning firms and insurance companies also call OC their home. Major lending, claims and processing centers along with product development are leaders in the financial and business world.

Athens, Greece

Athens is the financial capital of Greece, and multinational companies such as Ericsson, Siemens, Motorola and Coca-Cola have their regional research and development headquarters there. The total contribution for the economy of Athens has been distributed among the three main sectors, services, industries and agriculture. These three sectors contribute fairly in enhancing the economy of the city. The government of Greece is the major source of employment for the people living in Athens and Greece. From the 19th century, tourism and shipping became the main assets for Athens. The city became famous for its ancient monuments and rich history. The cruise ship industry is headquartered in Athens and Greece has got the biggest flotilla of commercial vessels in Europe. Piraeus and Athens are the main centers for the import and export of Greek goods and foreign items. Manufacturing sector also lends a helping hand in improving the economy of Athens. The city serves as a headquarter for Chemicals, petrochemical products, machinery, transport equipment, glassware, cement textiles, soap, food, flour, soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, pottery, leather goods and paper products industries along with the printing and publishing industries. Furthermore, the city has got a large number of well-established technology and research centers in addition to the good educational institutions.

Atlanta, GA

The Atlanta metropolitan area is the eighth-largest economy in the country and 17th-largest in the world. Corporate operations comprise a large portion of the Atlanta’s economy, with the city serving as the regional, national, or global headquarters for many corporations. Atlanta contains the country’s third largest concentration of Fortune 500 companies, and the city is the global headquarters of corporations such as The Coca-Cola Company, The Home Depot, Delta Air Lines, AT&T Mobility, UPS, and Newell-Rubbermaid. Over 75 percent of Fortune 1000 companies conduct business operations in the Atlanta metropolitan area, and the region hosts offices of about 1,250 multinational corporations. Many corporations are drawn to Atlanta on account of the city’s educated workforce; nearly 43% of adults in the city of Atlanta have college degrees, compared to 27% in the nation as a whole and 41% in Boston. Delta Air Lines, the city’s largest employer and the metro area’s third largest, operates the world’s largest airline hub at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and has helped make Hartsfield-Jackson the world’s busiest airport, both in terms of passenger traffic and aircraft operations. Media is also an important aspect of Atlanta’s economy. The city is a major cable television programming center. Information technology, an economic sector that includes publishing, software development, entertainment and data processing has, garnered a larger percentage of Atlanta’s economic output. Indeed, Atlanta contains the fourth-largest concentration of information technology jobs in the United States.

Atyrau, Kazakhstan

The Customs Union evolved into the Eurasian Economic Union in January 2015. During 2014, Kazakhstan’s economy was suffering by Russia’s slowing economy, falling oil prices, and problems at its Kashagan oil field. Kazakhstan devalued its currency. GDP in 2014 was $212 billion, growth rate is 4.3 % in 2014. The major sectors are – agriculture as 4.9 % of total economy – grain, potatoes, vegetables, melons; livestock; industry is 29.5 % – oil, coal, iron ore, manganese, chromite, lead, zinc, copper, titanium, bauxite, gold, silver, phosphates, sulfur, uranium, iron and steel; agricultural machinery, electric motors, construction materials; services take 65.6 %. Labor force is 9.1 mln.; unemployment is 5.2 % in 2012. The prevailing semi desert nature in the region, make the agrarian business very weak. National trade exports: $87.25 bln. – oil and oil products, natural gas, ferrous metals, chemicals, machinery, grain, wool, meat, coal; China 15.9%, Russia 12.1%, Germany 9.5%, France 8.5%, Italy 5.3%, Greece 5.3%, Romania 5%. Trade imports: $47.56 bln. – machinery and equipment, metal products, foodstuffs; Russia 32.2%, China 29%, Germany 5%. Debt: $157 bln. Electricity production is 90.53 bln. kWh; consumption is 80.29 bln. kWh; import 4.25 bln. kWh; export 2.93 bln. kWh; generation capacity is 17.84 GW, with 87.3 % fossil and hydro is 12.7 %. Supply and distribution of electricity sometimes is unstable because of regional dependencies. There are abundant mineral deposits in the country – approximately one-fifth of the world’s uranium reserves; gold- seventh place in the world; copper-fourth; lead, zinc-fourth; aluminum–tenth place in the world; nickel, cobalt-twelfth and seventh places in the world; iron, manganese-sixth; chromium-third in the world; coal-in top ten. Crude production is 1.63 mln. bbl/day, export is 1.36 mln. bbl/day, import is 118 000 bbl/day, reserves 30 bln. bbl. Refined production – 300 000 bbl/day, consumption – 248 000 bbl/day, export 143 000 bbl/day, import 52 000 bbl/day. Gas production is 20 bln. m3, consumption is 15.7 bln. m3, export is 11.2 bln. m3, import is 6.5 bln. m3, reserves are 2.407 trillion m3. Kashagan oil field gives high expectations to local people for prosperity. The investments, reached several billions USD, but several technical problems delayed the start of the extraction. There are large residential complexes for oil workers. There is a pipe factory investment of Chevron and other with related materials. Expectations for long lasting business with the petrol in the region, makes some big company to invest and to build local content production facilities. Around Atyrau there is several gas pump station, Chinese investment, bringing natural gas to China. The local refinery is also property of Chinese company. The airport is well maintained. The city is safe, international banks have offices. Nationalism among locals is not strong and aggressive; most of them sympathize to foreigners. English is rarely spoken. The traffic of the city is not well controlled and in pick hours the moving slows to 5-10 km/hour. The military patrols are visible in many parts of the city. Opportunities are connected to favorable relations with the biggest world power – US, Russia, China, India, Japan, and EU. All of them have big investments and interests in the local economy and Kazakhstan keeps good relations with all. Numerous big energy companies are presented there, Shell, Chevron, Total, BP, NCPOC, Lukoil, Gazprom, to name a few. Threats are mainly connected to the falling prices of oil and commodities, as those are the main contributors to the economy. The country is not affected by terrorism, or other unfavorable international situation. It keeps very strong relations with Russia, but in the same time behaves independently to important world problems. Weaknesses are as following: too much dependence on the carbon business and minerals, whose prices are unstable; in the region of Atyrau the soil is not productive, the climate is difficult and nearest big city is on several hundred kilometers, chances for diversification in near future are weak; the Caspian sea cost is not appropriate for tourism or recreation, due to the inconvenient landscape; the infrastructures in the region need big improvement, especially water supply and road traffic; local engineering capacity is weak. Opportunities are in connection of the expected start of Kashagan pumping, it will bring thousands of jobs in maintenance industry; gradually locals also get jobs in high technology businesses; the President, with national program puts target of developing hydrocarbon independent economy, through investment in infrastructure, especially in railways and tourism attractive places, transport, pharmaceuticals, telecommunications, petrochemicals and food processing; local friendly culture and safe environment will support the development, as this is the way to prosperity; improvement projects for stabilizing the electrical supply. A strategic plan of development of Kazakhstan until 2020 was adopted in 2010.

Auckland, New Zealand

Most major international corporations have an Auckland office, as the city is the economic capital of the nation. The most expensive office space is around lower Queen Street and the Viaduct Basin in the Auckland CBD, where many financial and business services are located, which make up a large percentage of the CBD economy. A large proportion of the technical and trades workforce is based in the industrial zones of South Auckland. The largest commercial and industrial areas of Greater Auckland are in the southeast of Auckland City and the western parts of Manukau City, mostly bordering the Manukau Harbour and the Tamaki River estuary. The sub-national GDP of the Auckland region is estimated at US$47.6 billion, 36% of New Zealand’s national GDP, 15% greater than the entire South Island. Auckland’s status as the largest commercial centre of the country reflects in the high median personal income (per working person, per year) which is NZ$44,304 (approx. US$33,000) for the region, with jobs in the Auckland CBD often earning more. The median personal income is NZ$22,300, behind only North Shore City (also part of the Greater Auckland area) and Wellington. While office workers still account for a large part of Auckland’s commuters, large office developments in other parts of the city, for example in Takapuna or Albany, both on the North Shore, are slowly becoming more common, reducing concentration on the Auckland CBD somewhat.

Austin, TX

Austin is considered to be a major center for high tech. Thousands of graduates each year from the engineering and computer science programs at the University of Texas at Austin provide a steady source of employees that help to fuel Austin’s technology and defense industry sectors. The region’s rapid growth has led Forbes to rank the Austin metropolitan area number one among all big cities for jobs. Austin’s largest employers include the Austin Independent School District, the City of Austin, Dell, the U.S. Federal Government, Freescale Semiconductor (spun off from Motorola in 2004), IBM, St. David’s Healthcare Partnership, Seton Family of Hospitals, the State of Texas, the Texas State University, and the University of Texas at Austin. Other high-tech companies with operations in Austin include 3M, Amazon, Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Google, Qualcomm, Inc., AMD, Applied Materials, Cirrus Logic, ARM Holdings, Cisco Systems, Electronic Arts, Flextronics, Facebook, eBay/PayPal, Bioware, Blizzard Entertainment, Hoover’s, Intel Corporation, National Instruments, Rackspace, RetailMeNot, Rooster Teeth, Spansion, Buffalo Technology, Silicon Laboratories, Xerox, Oracle, Hostgator, Samsung Group, HomeAway, and United Devices.

Bahrain

According to a report by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, Bahrain has the fastest growing economy in the Arab world. Bahrain also has the freest economy in the Middle East and is twelfth freest overall in the world based on the Index of Economic Freedom published by the Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal. Bahrain was named the world’s fastest growing financial center by the City of London’s Global Financial Centres Index. Bahrain’s banking and financial services sector, particularly Islamic banking, have benefited from the regional boom driven by demand for oil. Petroleum production and processing account is Bahrain’s most exported product, accounting for 60% of export receipts, 70% of government revenues, and 11% of GDP. Aluminium production is the second most exported product, followed by finance and construction materials. With its highly developed communication and transport facilities, Bahrain is home to a number of multinational firms and construction proceeds on several major industrial projects. A large share of exports consist of petroleum products made from imported crude oil, which account for 51% of the country’s imports. Bahrain depends heavily on food imports to feed its growing population; it relies heavily on meat imports from Australia and also imports 75% of its total fruit consumption needs. Since only 2.9% of the country’s land is arable, agriculture contributes to 0.5% of Bahrain’s GDP. Bahrain signed the US-Bahrain Free Trade Agreement, which will reduce certain trade barriers between the two nations.

Bali, Indonesia

Bali is an island which is very popular even more popular for foreigners rather the country of Indonesia itself. Industry of hospitality and tourism with its MICE is very well developed which Bali can make a smooth process of either divide or blend between modern and traditional culture. Hotels and resort villas are spread almost throughout cities of Bali although it is still concentrated in Center-Southern part of Bali. Because of that reason as well trading of FMCG business, properties, products and services that support tourism and hospitality will never die. European and Australian goes to Bali to spend their retirement day or leisure with surfing and beach activities. Even Indonesians still put Bali as their top holiday destination.

Balikpapan, Indonesia

Balikpapan in the Kalimantan Islands is a very important city relating to forestry, mining, oil gas, construction and other services business in Indonesia. Being the country of many natural resources, Kalimantan Island and Balikpapan is the most prominent city where every investor or businessman always put their office or facilities here to run their business. Mining and oil gas industry and also forestry will always be the heart of business in Balikpapan where logistics is its supporting service that is always grown and much more to be developed as the infrastructure projects to connect to other cities in Kalimantan will always make Balikpapan its main hub.

Baltimore, MD

Once a predominantly industrial town, with an economic base focused on steel processing, shipping, auto manufacturing, and transportation, the city experienced deindustrialization which cost residents tens of thousands of low-skill, high-wage jobs. The city now relies on a low-wage service economy, which accounts for 90% of jobs in the city. The city is home to the Johns Hopkins Hospital. Other large companies in Baltimore include Under Armour, Cordish Company, Legg Mason, McCormick & Company, T. Rowe Price, and Royal Farms. A sugar refinery owned by American Sugar Refining is one of Baltimore’s cultural icons. Nonprofits based in Baltimore include Lutheran Services in America and Catholic Relief Services.

Bangkok, Thailand

Bangkok is the economic centre of Thailand, and the heart of the country’s investment and development. The city has an economic output of 3.142 trillion baht (approx. US$98.34bn), contributing 29.1 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP). This amounts to a per-capita GDP value of ?456,911 ($14,301), almost three times the national average of ?160,556 ($5,025). The Bangkok Metropolitan Region has a combined output of ?4.773tn ($149.39bn), or 44.2 percent of GDP. Bangkok’s economy ranks as the sixth among Asian cities in terms of per-capita GDP, after Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Osaka-Kobe and Seoul. Wholesale and retail trade is the largest sector in the city’s economy, contributing 24.0 percent of Bangkok’s gross provincial product. It is followed by manufacturing (14.3%); real estate, renting and business activities (12.4%); transport and communications (11.6%); and financial intermediation (11.1%). Bangkok alone accounts for 48.4 percent of Thailand’s service sector, which in turn constitutes 49.0 percent of GDP. When the Bangkok Metropolitan Region is considered, manufacturing is the most significant contributor at 28.2 percent of the gross regional product, reflecting the density of industry in the Bangkok’s neighbouring provinces. The automotive industry based around Greater Bangkok is the largest production hub in Southeast Asia. Tourism is also a significant contributor to Bangkok’s economy, generating ?427.5bn ($13.38bn) in revenue. Due to the large amount of foreign representation, Thailand has for several years been a mainstay of the Southeast Asian economy and a key centre in Asian business. The Globalization and World Cities Research Network ranks Bangkok as an “Alpha-” world city, and it is ranked 59th in Z/Yen’s Global Financial Centres Index. Bangkok is home to the headquarters of all of Thailand’s major commercial banks and financial institutions, as well as the country’s largest companies. A large number of multinational corporations base their regional headquarters in Bangkok due to the lower cost of the workforce and firm operations relative to other major Asian business centres. Seventeen Thai companies are listed on the Forbes 2000, all of which are based in the capital, including PTT, the only Fortune Global 500 company in Thailand.

Barcelona, Spain

The Barcelona metropolitan area comprises over 66% of the people in one of the richest regions in Europe – Catalonia, with a GDP per capita amounting to 16% more than the EU average. The Barcelona metropolitan area had a GDP amounting to 44% more than the EU average making it the 4th economically powerful city by GDP in the European Union and 35th in the world. Furthermore, Barcelona is Europe’s fourth best business city and fastest improving European city. Barcelona is the 14th most”livable city” in the world according to lifestyle magazine Monocle. Barcelona has a long-standing mercantile tradition. Less well known is that the region was one of the earliest to begin industrialization in continental Europe, beginning with textile-related works. Since then, manufacturing has played a large role in its history.

Beijing, China

Beijing is among the most developed cities in China, with tertiary industry accounting for 73.2% of its gross domestic product (GDP); it was the first post industrial city in mainland China. Beijing is home to 41 Fortune Global 500 companies, the second most in the world behind Tokyo, and over 100 of the largest companies in China. Its overall economic influence has been ranked number 1 by PwC. Finance is one of the most important industries. There are 751 financial organizations in Beijing generating revenue of 128.6 billion RMB, 11.6% of the total financial industry revenue of the entire country. That also accounts for 13.8% of Beijing’s GDP, the highest percentage of any Chinese city. Beijing’s nominal GDP is 1.37 trillion RMB. Its per capita GDP is 78,194 RMB. Beijing’s nominal GDP is 1.19 trillion RMB (US$174 billion). Its GDP per capita is 68,788 RMB (US$10,070). Beijing’s primary, secondary, and tertiary industries are worth 11.83 billion RMB, 274.31 billion RMB, and 900.45 billion RMB respectively. The Beijing central business district (CBD), centered on the Guomao area, has been identified as the city’s new central business district, and is home to a variety of corporate regional headquarters, shopping precincts, and high-end housing. Beijing is increasingly becoming known for its innovative entrepreneurs and high-growth startup companies. This culture is backed by a large community of both Chinese and foreign venture capital firms, such as Sequoia Capital, whose head office in China is in Chaoyang, Beijing. Though Shanghai is seen as the economic center of China, this is typically based on the numerous large corporations based there, rather than for being a center for entrepreneurship.

Bengaluru, India

Bangalore is the 3rd most populous city in India with a population of 8.4 million in the metropolitan area. Bangalore gained its nickname “Silicon Valley of India” for its role in for leading the revolution of IT outsourcing. Large IT players such as Infosys, Wipro, ISRO, Flipkart, Biocon, and HAL are all headquartered in the city and contribute to 33% of India’s IT exports. It also has a GDP of $83Billion, making it the 4th largest in India, behind Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata. India is home to 57 Global 2000 companies. They are: Reliance Industries; ONGC; ICICI Bank; TCS; Bharti Airtel; Infosys; Wipro; Tata Steel; Mahindra and Mahindra; HCL and Adani Enterprises just to name a few.

Berlin, Germany

The nominal GDP of the city state Berlin totaled €90.1 (~$117) billion. Berlin’s economy is dominated by the service sector, with around 80% of all companies doing business in services. Fast-growing economic sectors in Berlin include communications, life sciences, and transportation particularly services that use information and communication technologies, as well as media and music, advertising and design, biotechnology, environmental services, and medical engineering. The Science and Business Park of Berlin-Adlershof is among the 15 largest technology parks worldwide. Research and development have high economic significance for the city, and the Berlin-Brandenburg region ranks among the top-three innovative regions in the EU. Many German and international companies have business or service centers in the city. For years Berlin is recognized as a centre of business startup in Europe. Among the 20 largest employers in Berlin are the Deutsche Bahn, the hospital provider, Charité, the local public transport provider, BVG, and the service provider, Dussmann and the Piepenbrock Group. Daimler manufactures cars, and BMW builds motorcycles in Berlin. Bayer Health Care and Berlin Chemie are major pharmaceutical companies headquartered in the city. The second largest German airline Air Berlin is also headquartered in Berlin. Siemens, a Fortune Global 500 company and one of the 30 German DAX companies, is headquartered in Berlin. The national railway operator, Deutsche Bahn, has its headquarters in Berlin as well. Berlin has a cluster of rail technology companies and is headquarter or site to Bombardier Transportation, Siemens Mobility, Stadler Rail and Thales Transportation.

Birmingham, United Kingdom

From a medieval market town, Birmingham developed in metalworking, leather and wool. With a number of natural advantages, which have driven its growth in the past; its location in the centre of England and its place in the middle of a growing network of medieval routes; nearby coal and iron deposits, and good waterways providing power for water mills. The growth in the canals, the development of rail across the UK impacted strongly on Birmingham. In the early 1900’s Birmingham became the centre of Car production in the UK, with a number of Private companies (Rover, Morris, Jaguar, Land Rover) merging to form the British Leyland Motor Company. Birmingham’s skill force in the industry has kept the industry in the area: Jaguar Land Rover have a large presence. In 2016 the world’s largest automotive supply chain trade show was held in Birmingham’s large Exhibition Centre the NEC. The venue, its location and the exhibition show the importance of Birmingham today. The NEC, opened in 1976 is the UK’s top venue, hosting more than 500 events a year, it is by far the largest in the UK, with ample parking and excellent transport routes. Birmingham has three world class universities and other tertiary colleges, attracting students from around the world. There is cultural diversity; more than 40% of its population is non-white, British or otherwise. Transport routes remain excellent, with road, rail and air routes to national and international destinations. Its International Airport, easily accessible from the city, is the UK’s seventh busiest airport, with over 9 million passengers a year, and now served by Emirates A380’s to the Middle East. Birmingham has a diverse list of top employers, ranging from Transport Services (National Express), Supermarket Head offices (Sainsbury’s), Food and Confectionery, Business and Financial Services, as well as automobile industry, and metal working industries. Business and Financial services and tourism are the more important industries. 256,000 people live and work in Birmingham, and around 300,000 in the Greater Birmingham area. 50% of the population of Birmingham are qualified at NVQ 3 and above; these statistics indicate a qualified and mobile workforce in the City. With an important place in the UK traffic system, and the UK’s largest exhibition centre, with a still thriving automobile industry the future for Birmingham should be bright. It has a mobile and qualified and skilled population. Concerns of the effect of “Brexit”, largely in the automotive sector; however, there is little reason why the city should not prosper with ties to the rest of the world. The population connections with India and the Middle East should provide a solid backdrop against which trade and expertise can be transferred to those areas. The key universities offer attractive study and research centres, supported by a regional policy to develop research and led by Aston University. Research thrives in medicine, engineering and life and health sciences; the diverse structure of the city’s industry should provide a good spring board for future growth and further diversification.

Bogota, Columbia

Bogotá is the main economic and industrial center of Colombia. The city is one of the largest industrial centers in Latin America. The Colombian government fosters the import of capital goods, Bogotá being one of the main destinations of these imports. This is due in part to its geographical location, which makes the city a strategic point in terms of logistics, since transportation of goods to other parts of the country is relatively fast. The World Cities Study Group and Network (GaWC) from the United Kingdom ranks Bogotá as a beta level city, a medium rankings. Beta level cities are important world cities that are instrumental in linking their region or state into the world economy. Despite the bad reputation Colombia bore in the 1980s and early 1990s, tourism in Bogotá has increased since the 2000s due to aggressive publicity campaigns and improvements in both infrastructure and safety. The Instituto Distrital de Turismo (District Institute of Tourism) was created with the goal of making Bogotá a sustainable tourist destination.

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.

Bristol, United Kingdom

Built on a significant industrial history, and powered by the early development of rail and shipping routes, Bristol grew with a divergency of industries, which continues today. Bristol remains a vibrant and active City. Essential to its status today as an administration centre for financial services. Its Central Station, Temple Meads, a link with Bristol’s past, was designed and built by Brunel in 1841. As in the past, Bristol is home to a divergent range of Industries; ranging from IT, which is increasing in the City, Heavy Industry, with Babcock and Airbus having large operations there; Financial Services , Transport and Distribution. Unemployment in the City is slightly below the national average. In 2008 Bristol was named as the UK’s first cycling city, followed in 2013 with it being placed in the top 10 of world cities for being bicycle friendly. This, together with excellent local and national bus and train routes makes the City easy to both live and work in. Whilst its central station, Temple-Mead’s offers good national connections, the northerly station on the busy London to Wales and the West motorway system, Bristol Parkway, provides easy commuting to and from Bristol across the City. Bristol has an airport, which serves national and international routes. It is serviced by large national and international discount and premium carriers. Thus Bristol has excellent travel links within and outside the UK. Served with two first class universities, Bristol attracts high level students across many disciplines; this will serve its future well, as good universities will attract good employers. With its excellent transport links to the whole of the UK, Bristol is increasingly chosen as a head-office location for companies moving out of London. Bristol has set its target as developing a low Carbon future by 2050, with a number of plans in operation; in this it will become increasingly cycle friendly and will seek to attract and develop renewable energies.

Brussels, Belgium

Serving as the centre of administration for Europe, Brussels’ economy is largely service-oriented. It is dominated by regional and world headquarters of multinationals, by European institutions, by various administrations, and by related services, though it does have a number of notable craft industries, such as the Cantillon Brewery and the Lambic brewery.