SHENZHEN was ranked third on this year’s Forbes Best Commercial Cities on the Chinese mainland list released Monday.
This is the first time the city has been placed among the top three since Forbes Chinese version first released the list in 2004.
Shenzhen was placed at 10 in 2004 and 15 in 2008.
Shanghai topped the list this year, followed by Guangzhou.
A total of 100 cities in 27 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions were selected.
Sixteen cities in Jiangsu Province appeared on the list, making Jiangsu a promising area for business. Zhejiang and Shandong provinces each have 14 cities on the list.
The list studied 652 cities on the mainland. It conducted research and collected basic data of about 220 cities whose GDP surpassed 34 billion yuan (US$5 billion) in 2008. Key indicators included an index of talent, city size, operating costs, consumer capacity, economic vitality, innovation, passengers and freight. These indicators reflect the dynamics and trends of urban development.
In this year’s top 10, there are three cities in the Pearl River Delta: Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Foshan (No. 9).
As China’s largest province by GDP, as well as a large trade province with a ratio of dependence on foreign trade up to 155 percent, Guangdong is one of the areas worst affected by the international financial crisis. This is clearly reflected in Dongguan being left off the top 10 list.
(SD News)