Just finished reading Stewart Fraser’s Global Financial Centres report 2010 (PDF), which looks at what attracts people to locate in various international financial centres across the world.
My attention is particularly drawn to Asia, where Hong Kong and Singapore continue to cement their third- and fourth-place rankings as world financial centres (click on chart at the bottom of this article to view full sized). Not only are they credited for having rebounded faster from the recession than their counterparts in London and New York, they also get better marks (Singapore in particular) for the quality of the people they have on-hand.
Look a little deeper and you can see what’s behind that: a steadfast focus on innovation and education.
The old maxim is true: money goes where it’s most welcome, but it applies to people, too. Smart people go where they’re given the budget and resources to take great ideas and do amazing things with them.
(Chart: Global Financial Centres report 2010)
