CITIES WITH POWER

SEOUL

Seoul makes up almost a quarter of South Korea’s GDP despite

occupying less than 1% of its land. This financial mega-city is

home to some of the world’s largest brands such as

Samsung, Kia, and LG.

LOS ANGELES

Most people associate Los Angeles with one of its biggest money

makers: film-producing Hollywood; however, it also has the

fifth-busiest port in the world, focused largely on U.S.-Asia trade.

SINGAPORE

Singapore is the second freest economy in the world. Trade is

central to its existence (hearkening back to its days as the

primary British naval base in East Asia) with a trade-to-GDP

ratio of 408%.

PARIS

The world’s fifth most financially powerful city, Paris boasts the

largest business district in Europe, La Défence. While the Parisian

metro focuses mostly on services, it’s also a leader in

manufacturing for high-tech industries such as aerospace

and electronics.

HONG KONG

Located on the southern coast of China, Hong Kong is the

largest centre for IPOs (initial public offerings, when a

company goes public), pulling in 22% of IPO capital in 2009.

TOKYO

Japan’s massive capital, Tokyo, is the most populous urban metro

in the world and plays host to 51 companies on the

Fortune Global 500, more than any other city.

LONDON

With a total economic output of over £58 billion, London is the

largest economic powerhouse in Europe, much to Parisians’

chagrin, and has more overseas banks (480) than any other

global city.

NEW YORK

It may come as no surprise that the Big Apple, New York City,

tops this list as the world’s most financially powerful city.

Wall Street and the rest of the major financial institutions bring

NYC’s total economic output to $1.4 trillion.