福布斯排行榜：倫敦成爲全球最具影響力城市
Britain is a "second-rate power" which has been in decline for a century – yet London remains the most influential city in the world.
Those are the startling findings of a list of the globe's most "necessary" cities, compiled by the business magazine Forbes.
London and New York topped the global list of the world's most influential cities, although largely thanks to history, tradition and "inertia" – they are the most dominant principally because they always have been.
The British capital clinched top spot in part thanks to its position as a global transport hub with a high number of company headquarters, loose regulatory environment and judicial and political systems which have proved a model for the rest of the world.
But Forbes was somewhat damning in its praise, adding that London's status as the world's most influential city was largely a hangover from its past glories.
"Inertia and smart use of it is a key theme that emerged in our evaluation of the top global cities," it said.
"No city better exemplifies this than London, which after more than a century of imperial decline still ranks No. 1 in our survey.
"The United Kingdom may now be a second-rate power, but the City's unparalleled legacy as a global financial capital still underpins its pre-eminence." Forbes based its city rankings on eight factors, including the level of foreign direct investment, the number of corporate headquarters, the amount of business types it dominates, ease of air travel to other global cities, the strength of financial services, technology and media power, and racial diversity.
Using those factors, Forbes found London and New York held a "hegemony" over the rest of the world, standing far ahead of their nearest rivals, Paris and Tokyo.
Rising stars were named as Singapore, currently in fifth place, Dubai in seventh and San Francisco, which is in equal 10th.
Cities which could leap into the top 10 in future include Soul, currently number 16, Abu Dhabi, now in 20th, and Sao Paulo in 23rd.
Despite being among the world's most populous cities, in countries which are seen as being on the cusp of an economic breakthrough, cities elsewhere in the developing world are considered lacking in influence.
Forbes said: "The Indian megacities Delhi and Mumbai rank in the low 30s along with Johannesburg in South Africa.
"Until these areas can develop adequate infrastructure - from roads, transit and bridges to relatively non-corrupt judicial systems - none can be expected to crack the top 10, or even 20, for at least a decade.
"For the time being, the future of the global city belongs not to the biggest or fastest growing but the most efficient and savvy, and those with a strong historical pedigree. This raises the bar for all cities that wish to break into this elite club."
The world's top 10 most influential cities:
1. London
A history and tradition which cannot be rivalled have left London with all the economic benefits of the City of London, and a language, judiciary and legal system which are models for the rest of the world.
The super-rich have long been comfortable there, and its cultural, media and advertising sectors are dominant.
Spared the regulation and red tape which ties up business in the US and Europe, London's time zones are manageable for business travellers commuting east or west and it has the second best global air connections in the world after Dubai.
London has the most start-up Internet firms in Europe and is host to 68 of the world's top 2,000 companies.
2. New York
Hard on the heels of London, New York only narrowly missed out to its British rival in the Forbes list. The Big Apple is home to most of the world's top investment banks and hedge funds. Its stock market trade levels are 10 times that of London and four times that of Tokyo. It is a global leader in media, advertising and the music industry and dominates in the realms of fashion and luxury. Visitors spend more money in New York than any city in the world thanks, Forbes suggests, to its iconic landmarks.
3. Paris
A distant third, Paris claims its place only thanks to its domination of the still-important French market with virtually all of the country's home-grown companies basing their headquarters there.
4. Singapore
The most influential city in Asia, Singapore has a population of just five million but an infrastructure which is the envy of the world. With a colonial legacy of British governance and law, it has been named as the best place in the world to do business. As a result, it has the highest level of foreign direct investment and is the top location for European companies with an Asia-Pacific HQ.
5. Tokyo
Despite being the world's largest city in terms of gross domestic product, Tokyo has fallen behind Singapore as Asia's most influential, according to Forbes. Like Paris, the magazine said, it gains most of its ranking due to its domination of its own domestic markets. But it will continue to suffer thanks to an ageing population and declining birth rate, a lack of ethnic diversity and stiff competition from regional rivals.
6. Hong Kong
More free than the rest of China, Hong Kong is the largest financial centre in Asia and the third largest in the world. Most of the world's banks, asset managers and insurance companies have Asia-Pacific headquarters there.
7. Dubai
Dubai has put itself the centre of the world thanks to an airport which boasts the largest terminal on the globe which makes it the most well-connected city in terms of air travel.
Coupled with an environment described by Forbes as "business-friendly," it is the destination of choice for companies seeking a Middle East presence.
It is also the most racially-diverse city on the list, with 83 per cent of residents having been born elsewhere.
8. Beijing
As the capital of the emerging economic superpower that is China, Beijing is growing importance all the time. As well as hosting the HQs of most of China's state-owned companies Forbes said it is "home to the country's elite educational institutions and its most innovative companies."
= Sydney
Australia's largest city is dominant in a country that has seen a resources-fuelled boom in the last two decades.
10. San Francisco Bay Area
Has leapt from relatively obscurity to become hugely "necessary" thanks largely to its domination of the tech field. Companies outside the sector are now also seeing San Fran as the place to be, moving their businesses there.
= Los Angeles
No longer the force it was when it sought to rival New York as America's most important city, LA's position is just about secured thanks to Hollywood and its domination of the entertainment industry. It remains the second-largest city in the US, but it is losing influence in business terms, with several major companies departing in recent years, and could soon trail its neighbour San Francisco .
= Toronto
Gains its position as the economic capital of the rich and stable country that is Canada. Nearly half of its population is foreign born.據英國《每日電訊報》報道，儘管大英帝國經過一個世紀的衰落，已淪爲一個“二流強國”，但倫敦仍是全球最具影響力的城市。
這些全球最“顯要”城市排名結果令人十分震驚，它源自於商業雜誌《福布斯》。
倫敦和紐約之所以能夠在全球最具影響力城市榜單遙遙領先，雖然在很大程度上歸功於歷史、傳統和“慣性”的作用——但主要原因是他們一直以來都處於領先地位。
英國首都倫敦榜單獨佔鰲頭，一部分原因功歸於其全球交通樞紐的地位，這裏有大量的企業總部、寬鬆的監管環境以及完善的司法政治體系，這些都顯示了其爲世界樹立的典範。
然而，《福布斯》在其讚美之辭中卻有一些不滿，稱倫敦能居全球最具影響力城市之首，主要因爲延續着過往輝煌。
《福布斯》指出：“傳統慣性以及如何巧用慣性是我們此次評選考慮的關鍵因素。”
“沒有其它城市可以比倫敦更好的證明這一點。儘管經過一個世紀多的帝國衰落，但調查顯示，倫敦仍具有無以匹敵的影響力。”
“現在的英國也許已淪爲一個二流強國，但倫敦仍是全球金融中心，這一無與倫比的遺產仍彰顯着其顯赫地位。”《福布斯》城市排行評選主要基於八個因素：吸引外國直接投資數量、企業總部數量、主要企業類型數量、國際航運便捷程度、金融服務實力、技術和媒體權威以及種族多元化程度。
根據這些因素，《福布斯》發現倫敦和紐約在全球其它城市中“鶴立雞羣”，與最接近它們的巴黎和東京相比，遙遙領先。
後起之秀新加坡目前排名第五，迪拜排名第七，舊金山排名第十。
未來有望躋身前十名的城市包括，目前排名第十六的首爾（Seoul，韓國首都），排名二十的阿布扎比（Abu Dhabi，阿拉伯聯合酋長國首都），以及排名第23的聖保羅（Sao Paulo，巴西最大城市）。
在發展中國家中，儘管有些城市人口很稠密，經濟發展也取得了突破，但仍被認爲缺乏影響力。
《福布斯》稱：“印度的大都市德里（Delhi）和孟買（Mumbai）只能排名三十多，與南非的約翰內斯堡（Johannesburg）處於同一等級。”
“直到這些地區建立足夠完善的基礎設施——從道路、交通、橋樑到廉潔的司法體系——否則至少十年內，他們無法躋身前十名或前二十名。
“從目前來看，國際性大都市的未來屬於那些最有效率、最有見識並擁有深遠歷史背景的城市，而不是那些規模最大或發展最快的城市。這擡高了衆多城市期望加入該‘精英俱樂部’的門檻。”
全球十大最具影響力的城市：
1．倫敦（London）
以英語爲母語的倫敦，擁有悠久的歷史和傳統，並是國際性金融中心，豐厚的經濟效益也助其榮登榜首。此外，完善的司法和法律體系也爲世界其它地區樹立了典範。
作爲全球富豪首選居住地，倫敦佔據着世界文化、媒體、廣告行業的主導地位。
撇開在美國和歐洲的商業法規及繁文縟節，倫敦擁有時區上的優勢，方便全國各地商務旅客的來來往往。此外，倫敦的航空聯絡體系十分完善，全球排名第二，僅次於迪拜。
在歐洲大量的高科技初創互聯網公司屬於倫敦。全球前2000強企業中，有68家公司總部設在倫敦。
2．紐約（New York）
《福布斯》榜單上，美國紐約緊跟倫敦之後，惜敗於對手倫敦屈居第二。大蘋果城（The Big Apple，紐約的別稱）是世界頂級投資銀行和對衝基金之鄉。紐約股票市場貿易是倫敦的十倍，東京的四倍。紐約的媒體、廣告和音樂產業在全球遙遙領先，同時，紐約還是世界重要的時尚和奢侈品之都。《福布斯》指出，由於紐約擁有衆多標誌性建築物，遊客在紐約的消費超過世界上其它任何城市。
3．巴黎（Paris）
巴黎在排行榜上名列第三，但與倫敦、紐約差距較大。巴黎聲稱之所以能位居第三，主要由於法國國內市場仍發揮着重要的作用，且幾乎所有法國國內知名企業總部都設於巴黎。
4．新加坡（Singapore）
新加坡是亞洲最具影響力的城市。雖然新加坡的人口只有500萬，但這裏的基礎設施讓全世界爲之羨慕。收益於英國殖民時期遺留下來的統治方式和法律法規，被稱爲全球最佳經商之地。因此，新加坡是外國直接投資水平最高的地區，並且是歐洲公司建立亞太地區總部的首選之地。
5．東京（Tokyo）
據《福布斯》稱，儘管東京是全球國內生產總值（GDP）最大的城市，但卻落居新加坡之後，未能成爲亞洲最具影響力的城市。《福布斯》還稱，東京與巴黎相似，其排名第五主要依賴於自身國內市場的發展。然而，由於受到人口的老齡化、出生率不斷下降、民族多樣性的缺乏以及區域競爭對手的激烈競爭等因素的制約，東京的發展將面臨挑戰。
6．香港（Hong Kong）
香港比中國其它地區更自由，也是亞洲最大金融中心，僅次於倫敦和紐約，全球排名第三位。全球大多數的世界銀行、資產管理公司和保險公司都把他們的亞太地區總部設在香港。
7．迪拜（Dubai）
迪拜之所以能將自己推向世界中心，功歸於擁有全球最大航站樓的迪拜國際機場，這也使它成爲全球航空旅行的最佳樞紐城市。
《福布斯》表示，迪拜擁有優良的企業發展環境，因此，這裏也是企業在中東地區尋求舉足輕重地位的首選之地。
此外，迪拜還是榜單中種族最複雜的城市，83%的迪拜居民都出生在國外。
8．北京
作爲新興經濟超級大國中國的首都，北京的地位也越來越重要。由於許多中國國有企業總部坐落於此，《福布斯》把北京稱爲“國家人才教育機構和最具創新力企業之鄉”。
8．悉尼（Sydney）（並列第八）
悉尼作爲澳大利亞最大的城市，在全國處於主導地位。過去的二十年裏，悉尼的資源能源行業迅速發展。
10．舊金山港灣區（San Francisco Bay Area）
從默默無聞一躍成爲極其“顯要”城市，這很大程度上要歸功於其科技領域的主導地位。各大企業將舊金山視爲企業外部部門最佳之地，將業務移於此地擴展。
10. 洛杉磯（Los Angeles）
洛杉磯曾經與紐約競選美國最重要的城市。它顯著的影響力主要得益於好萊塢和娛樂產業中心地位。洛杉磯雖然仍是美國第二大城市，但由於近幾年幾大企業的撤離，其商業方面的影響力正在減弱，或將很快落後於其近鄰舊金山。
10. 多倫多（Toronto）
多倫多是繁榮穩定的加拿大最大的城市，以雄厚的經濟資本贏得其名。這裏近一半人口爲海外出生。
