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>Characteristics of super cities and the power they have to spur national economy
Modern city
DNA
U
RBAN
migration attracting
a particular type of
demographic set – high-
value professionals that are
tech-savvy – is said to be the seed
that is harvestingmega cities,
otherwise known as global cities.
The rising of technology firms in
urban areas and “big” towns, along
with the perks that make for a
“convenient and connected
lifestyle” – online (in cyberspace),
as well as on-ground (via
convenient transport via buses,
taxis, trains/LRT/MRT, etc) – are
drawing creative talents of the new
age workforce and boosting urban
economies.
THE SUPER IN SUPER CITIES
Call themmega cities or global
cities, we explore these mostly
urban areas, some along a
revolutionary course of developing
MenaraPrudential hasnew
owners, set todonnew looks
OCBC
Properties (M) Sdn Bhd
recently sold the iconic Menara
Prudential building in downtown
Kuala Lumpur for RM125 million.
The new owners are property
investment and holding company
KL33 Properties Sdn Bhd.
According to JLLMalaysia’s
country head YY Lau, who
represented both buyer and seller
as adviser – OCBC on its exit
strategy and KL33 on its growth
strategy: “This transaction has
presented a rare opportunity for
the purchaser to win a Grade A
asset in an easily-accessible
location with high-quality office
space. Given the improved public
transport infrastructure in KL,
we’re starting to see a spike in
demand for projects with good
connectivity.”
The building is located in KL’s
prime financial district, along
bustling Jalan Sultan Ismail within
the Golden Triangle. It boasts a 24-
storey skyscraper with glass
facade offering 164,706 sf of
lettable space and serves as head
office to its anchor tenant
Prudential Assurance Malaysia.
KL33 property director Mike
Kan shared his company’s plans
for the building to undergo a
major transformation programme.
“It will be refreshed with IT
facilities, an intelligent building
system, modern and revamped
entrance lobby and refurbished
interiors – raising the building up
to the high standards of modern
offices.” Look out for this major
revamp.
PHOTO: WWW.CHRODERS.COM
Source: Schroders, as at December 2016
1
Beijing
China
2
Shanghai
China
3
Shenzhen
China
4
Tianjin
China
5
NewYork
United States
6
Los Angeles
United States
7
Dallas
United States
8
London
United Kingdom
9
Houston
United States
10
Chicago
United States
PART1
to become one, uncovering the
DNA of these bustling regions and
up-and-coming city centres with
huge potential.
According to a five-year study
conducted by Dr TimMoonen,
director of intelligence at The
Business of Cities Ltd, there are five
characteristics that contribute to
the rise of these successful cities,
which are:
enhanced connectivity which
enables trading;
openness to diverse populations
which attracts entrepreneurs,
merchants and traders, thus
broadening the population
catalogue;
drive for innovation and
invention of products andmeans
of trade as in transport,
currencies, insurance/stock
markets, etc;
hunger to seek newmarkets
where products can be
sold; and
willingness to take
advantage of geopolitical
change and opportunity as
in expanding interests in
new territories, aligning
with winners in conflict or
offering specialists
services to new
populations.
While many call tomind
established cities like New
York, London, Paris and
Hong Kong with their
populations of tens of
millions, cities like
Shanghai, Mumbai and Sao
Paolo have subsumed
nearby cities, having
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undergone metropolitanisation.
GREAT WAS NOT
ALWAYS GREAT
According toMoonen, there is a
third and newwave of “global or
mega cities” that have emerged in
the last five to 10 years – smaller in
size yet vivacious, innovative
clusters offering high-quality life
andmaking use of cutting-edge
technologies.
Benefits of these mega cities
include urbanisation. Where there
is global growth, economies rise,
lifestyles improve, living standards,
jobs andwages step up,
opportunities increase and
businesses prosper. These are just
some of the rewards sequential to a
city that has developed to become
a mega or global city.
While there are advantages,
there are also disadvantages like:
overcrowded spaces which
lead to health issues and such;
the need to improve urban
infrastructure;
rising consumer needs as in
housing, food stock and
transport;
more jobs will need to be
created;
changing of old policies and
institutions that can adapt or lose
out; andmore.
EXPERT’S SAY
According to remarks raised by
BrookingsMetro director Amy Liu
at the Global Cities Summit in 2016:
“As worldwide cities globalise and
hyper-connect, whether as
innovation hubs or manufacturing
houses, continuous adaptation is
required in order to be globally
competitive and inclusive. How
globalisation is managedwill be the
key to a city’s success or failure in
its aim to achieve global or mega
city status,” she said.
Hence, to remain relevant in this
current era, the word of advice is –
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“Cities must increase their global
competitiveness and create shared
prosperity.”
Industry bigwigs and top brass
professionals recommend:
actively adapt to the unique
global challenges;
continually upgrade the
competitiveness of trade sectors;
export and expand;
improve access to quality
education;
launch global trade and
investment strategies;
build relationships with global
firms and assist each other to be
more trade-intensive; and
be proactive and use a
more strategic and
demand-driven approach to
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workforce development.
In short, solve problems,
collaborate, create local conditions
for firms andworkers to be part of a
global success.
With that, next week we take a
look at two cities inMalaysia and
explore their global
competitiveness or how each is
working towards achieving it.
[The above-mentioned information is
retrieved fromThe Business of Cities Ltd
andThe Brookings Institution.]
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theSun ON FRIDAY
|
MARCH 17, 2017