Singapore fifth most important city for people with over US$100M

London tops the list but Singapore and other Asian countries are fast to catch up.

A joint study by Knight Frank and Citi Bank asked respondents  with over $100M net worh from around the world to rank the most important global and regional cities to HNWIs now and in 10 years, and to pinpoint those growing most quickly in importance. They also asked them to rank cities in terms of economic activity, political power, quality of life, and knowledge and influence.

The study titled Wealth Report 2012 show that London took the pole position in almost every category.

Survey respondents from all regions bar one voted it the city that matters most to their clients now. Even respondents in Asia Pacific put London and New York ahead of Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing.

Only respondents in Latin America disagreed, putting London in third place after New York and Miami. London and New York remain in first and second place in the league of the leading cities in 10 years’ time, suggesting it will be some time yet before their influence fades, said the report.

But for how long can London and New York retain these top spots?

The report said that Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong are hot on their heels of the leading
cities in 10 years – Beijing made it to third place in this league (a rise of six places), followed by Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong, knocking Paris down to seventh place.

Beijing and Shanghai also lead the list of cities growing in importance most quickly to HNWIs, followed by London, Singapore, Hong Kong and New York. This reflects the impact of the flourishing economies of the East.