Future world capitals are here - Forbes

Voted time again, over their cosmopolitan lifestyle and openness, a fav among the global glitterati, being banking and financial centres for billionaires, these are the world's CURRENT set of world capitals, according to this *Forbes writer (in no particular order):

New York
London
Paris
Tokyo
Chicago
Los Angeles
Seoul
Singapore
Hong Kong.


Four are in Asia. Three are in the US of A. Two in Europe.
(*Forbes is of course an America-based publication so I guess we can expect an Americano bias).
But now, if you are still young, you might want to eye these world capitals to work in the future (or if you watch, these cities represent their countries' economies - so maybe it is time to learn Mandarin and Hindi. Or maybe Russian and Arabic).
These are, according to Forbes, the world's new world capitals (in nor particular order):

Shanghai
Beijing
Moscow
Mumbai
Bangalore
Hyderabad
Sao Paulo
Dubai.

Five are in Asia, one in the Middle East. None from America.
Two are China cities, three from India!
Who is not impressed by the Shanghai Bund (SEE PICTURE).
Who is not impressed by the industriousness of Mumbai and Bangalore.
Ie, if you are into stocks and unit trusts, the China and India plays remain solid.

As for Dubai, I am quite doubtful the wealth can be sustained. If only because it is too much based on a property play - the only business there is building condos, offices and island homes, and selling 'em. But the word is, with the anticipated rebound in global economies, things may turn out right again in the desert lands.


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Forbes used these factors to put the cities up there - population growth, oil-driven wealth, business verve as well as changes in the cities' skylines.

The main reason behind what it termed the 'new order among global cities' lies in economic fundamentals.

Over the past 25 years, per capita income, based on purchasing power parity, grew by over 400 per cent in India and a remarkable 1,500 per cent in China.

In that same period, US per capita income grew by 245 per cent; growth in most Western European nations was less than that.