Singapore falls behind Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok in the liveability category in Global Power City Index

According to the latest Global Power City Index (GPCI) report released on Tuesday (19 November), Singapore is ranked below other Asian cities like Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok in the liveability category.

It was reported that Singapore only managed to take the 37th spot, whereas Tokyo placed 11th, Kuala Lumpur was awarded the 15th place and Bangkok took the 33rd position.

The index, which has been published since 2008, ranks 40 or major cities around the world by their level of “magnetism”, or overall power to attract creative individuals and enterprises from around the world.

Cities are rated in terms of 70 indicators in six categories – economy, research and development, cultural interaction, liveability, environment and accessibility.

Although the Republic performed poorly in the liveability category, but it scored well in the overall report taking the 5th position, behind London (#1), New York (#2), Tokyo (#3) and Paris (#4).

“Singapore once again proved to be a stable city amidst global challenges, ranking first in ‘Political, Economic and Business Risk,’ second in ‘Economic Freedom,’ and up from ninth to sixth in Economy overall. Singapore still retains its high score in ‘Number of Foreign Visitors’ and ‘Number of Foreign Residents,’ showing its status as Asia’s leading international hub,” the report stated.

If that’s not all, Singapore also surpassed Hong Kong (#9) in the Economy category, taking the sixth position.

As a whole, Amsterdam and Seoul took the sixth and seventh place respectively, while Berlin, Hong Kong and Sydney rounded up the top 10 – which remains the same as last year.

Although London took the top position for the eighth year in a row, but it saw its comprehensive score fall in the GPCI. While its score continued to rise following the 2016 EU membership referendum, this year its score in Economy’s World’s Top 500 Companies fell, perhaps showing the effects of turmoil surrounding Brexit negotiations, the report explained.

Additionally, the scores of New York, Tokyo and Paris also decreased for their own, but the degree of Tokyo’s all widened its gap with New York – although the gap between Tokyo and Paris narrowed.

However, Paris continued to move forward following its successful bid in 2017 to host the 2024 Olympic Games, overcoming a previous downtrend following the city’s 2015 terrorist attacks.

Looking back at the state of the world over the past year, a large number of challenging events have occurred or continued, such as US-China trade friction, issues surrounding the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, and the Hong Kong protests.

The report also revealed that a number of potential effects have been noticed in the GPCI 2019, with Beijing and Shanghai’s GDP Growth Rates stagnating, and London’s number of World’s Top 500 Companies falling. Effects on Hong Kong will likely be felt in the GPCI 2020.