Sydney set to join the Big Six of world cities

Sydney set to join the Big Six of world citiesSydney is one of three cities likely to overtake Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong as an ‘established world city’, according to new research from JLL.Globalisation and Competition: The New World of Cities finds Asia Pacific’s three established world cities risk being outshone by emerging cities in the region over the next decade. Tokyo, Singapore and Hong Kong make up half of the ‘Big Six’ established world cities and, along with London, New York and Paris, attract world class corporations, talent and more than one fifth of global real estate investment.”In order for the ‘Big Six’ cities to maintain their dominance, they will need to execute bold and ambitious urban transformation projects to accommodate growth and stay globally competitive,” says director of JLL’s global research program, Rosemary Feenan.However, JLL’s report argues that a number of cities could challenge their dominance. Sydney, Toronto and Seoul are identified as the most likely to break into this elite group in future, having acquired some of the financial, headquarter and institutional critical mass.”Sydney is a beneficiary of the entry and expansion of NASDAQ and S&P 0 listed companies,” says JLL Australia CEO and member of the Property Council’s board directors, Stephen Conry, adding that a number of these companies are seeking geographical diversification in future revenue and increased exposure to the Asia Pacific region. “Sydney offers a high quality of life and is an attractive destination for US headquartered companies to send highly skilled knowledge workers to run the Australian and potentially Asian operations of these companies.”The report also names Brisbane and Melbourne as ‘New World Cities’, with Brisbane’s strength identified as quality of life and Melbourne’s as human capital.