Dubai among top 50 global centers of commerce

The study is designed to provide insight and knowledge on how leading cities influence the global economy and perform critical functions that connect markets and commerce globally. Dubai ranks as the top city in the Middle East and is placed ninth out of 20 cities in the Asia/Pacific Middle East and Africa (APMEA) region. Dubai is ranked in 37th place within the world's top 50 cities that are the hubs of the new worldwide economy.

The Index, developed by a panel of leading experts in economics, urban development and social science from around the world, lists and ranks the top 50 Centers of Commerce based on six measurement dimensions consisting of over 100 data points. It places London first, followed by New York, Tokyo, Chicago and Hong Kong in the top five. Completing the top 10 are Singapore, Frankfurt, Paris, Seoul and Los Angeles.

Dubai's ranking positions the city as a leader in the Middle East, offering a strong business climate that supports further development. Dubai scored high in the 'Legal and Political Framework' dimension (78.04), the 'Economic Stability' dimension (75.63) and the 'Ease of Doing Business' dimension (73.76). On a comparative basis, Dubai ranked 16th among the 50 top cities on the Business Center dimension and 29th and 30th on the Financial Flow and Legal and Political Framework dimensions. These rankings reflect the enormous drive by the government of Dubai to be a world-class financial and business centre. The Knowledge Creation and Information Flow dimension represents an opportunity for development, Dubai scores low with an Index rate of 4.24 and is ranked 18th in APMEA and 61 overall.

"A prerequisite for success in today's global marketplace is an in-depth understanding of how cities are connected and how they influence the worldwide economy. The Worldwide Centers of Commerce program addresses this need by identifying and providing industry-leading insights into the characteristics and commonalities of cities that advance global commerce the most," said Denzil Lawson, General Manager, Middle East and Levant, MasterCard Worldwide. He continued,

"Dubai, with a ranking in the top 50 centers of commerce, demonstrates its position as a regional hub. As the city with the highest ranking in the Middle East region, Dubai's ranking tells an amazing growth story."

The transformation of cities into global centers of commerce has been fueled in part by rapid urbanization. In terms of population size and economic activities, many cities today are far larger than a significant number of sovereign states and more important than ever before. The research report establishes that today, many of these metropolises are "global cities" that perform critical functions connecting markets and commerce globally. In essence, they are nodes of connectivity through which global commerce can take place.

"The old paradigm was the sovereign state; this is now the age of the city," said Professor William Lever, Emeritus Professor, Hon Senior Research Fellow of Urban Studies, University of Glasgow and member of the knowledge panel for the MasterCard Worldwide Centers of Commerce Index. "The trend of commerce becoming more knowledge-driven and less tangible has actually elevated the role of today's cities, positioning them as the hubs of complex circuits that fuel the globalized economy and provide connections through which true global commerce takes place. This research provides valuable insight into the cities that sit at the center of global commerce as well as the factors that are fuelling commerce in each."