Singapore, Dubai next financial hubs

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Singapore, Dubai next financial hubs
Dubai is on the investors' radar from London to Brussels to Paris to Lisbon

Dubai - Singapore is next in line if London loses its status as leading business hub

By Abdul Basit

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Published: Wed 7 Sep 2016, 8:47 PM

Last updated: Wed 7 Sep 2016, 10:53 PM

Singapore is next in line if London loses its status as leading business hub in the world, according to a new study by PwC.
Dubai is also very strong candidate to benefit after Brexit if big businesses chose to relocate offices. According to the latest Global Financial Centre Index, London, New York, Singapore and Hong Kong remained the four leading global financial centres.
Dubai improved three positions this year and reached the 13th spot in the index. Dubai remains the leading financial centre in the Middle East and Africa.
"London and Dubai are competing at the global level along with Singapore, New York, Tokyo, Hong Kong. Both centres cater to different segments of the market. However, Dubai has a slight edge over London due to its better infrastructure, support from government, higher economic confidence, and last but not the least, strong policy consistency," Shan Saeed, chief economist at IQI Holdings, told Khaleej Times
"Dubai is on the investors' radar from London to Brussels to Paris to Lisbon. Dubai can easily attract investment amounting to $50 billion to $100 billion in the foreseeable future through brand positioning strategy and effective marketing campaign," Saeed said.
The PwC study says Singapore ranks behind London as the best global city based on social and economic data published before the UK voted to leave the European Union. 'The Cities of Opportunity Index' places Singapore ahead of Paris and Amsterdam, two European cities that are seeking to attract foreign businesses if they decide to shift jobs out of London.
Few cities beat Singapore on taxes. The corporate tax rate of 17 per cent compares with more than 30 per cent in France, 35 per cent in the US and an average of 22.8 per cent for the 35-member Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
"An analysis of corporate total tax rate, personal rate, and tax efficiency shows that Singapore, along with Dubai and Hong Kong, have the lowest rates and highest efficiency collectively," PwC said.
The UK capital emerged as the top global city for the second consecutive occasion and even extended its lead against rivals, according to PwC's biennial "Cities of Opportunity" report.
"London has the tools for a changing world, which increasingly determine global success or failure in an urban world driven by knowledge and connectivity," PwC analysts said in the report.
The report assessed 30 global cities based on 10 economic and social health indicators, including transportation and infrastructure, ease of doing business, demographics and livability, technology readiness and cost.
London scored especially well on intellectual capital and innovation and indicators of economic clout, while the Southeast Asian city-state performed best in the area of taxes, with the lowest tax rates but the highest efficiency.
- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com


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