Doha,April,12:Doha is placed second among all the cities in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region when it comes to secured business and investment prospects, a latest research found that calculates various employment risk factors in 138 metropolises internationally.
The Qatari capital maintained its 2012 regional position at number two behind Dubai — the business power house in the Arab world — but jumped 11 points in the overall ranking leaving behind cities like Paris and Frankfurt.
The research called ‘2013 people risk index’ was conducted by Aon Hewitt, the global human resources business of Aon plc which is associated with the NYSE: AON.
It measures the risks that organisations face with recruitment, employment and relocation in 138 cities worldwide by analysing factors such as demographics, access to education, talent and development, employment practices and government regulations.
Doha ranks 31st among the 138 cities covered in the index, rising 11 places compared to the 2012 position and is the second highest ranked city in the Middle East after Dubai that stands at number 19 globally.
Significantly, the index supports Doha’s growing reputation as a major business hub with the Qatari capital ranking higher than many leading international cities such as Paris (36th), Manchester (37th) and Frankfurt (also 37th).
Though, way smaller both in area and size of the population, Doha is competing with cities like Brussels, Denver and Sydney — all of them collectively ranked at number 27 at the index.
Experts said an unprecedented activity in the construction industry coupled with an expected boom in economy and population ahead of the nation hosting soccer World Cup in 2022 are the factors helping Doha become more sensitive towards its image as a business friendly city.
With the retail sector apparently poised for a boom on the back of half a million rise in population over the next five years, they added, the city is expected to witness more ease for economic activity.
But whether or not the Qatari capital would ever be able to surpass Dubai that is referred to as a universe in itself remains a question to be answered in the years to come.
When it came to Middle Eastern cities, Doha is ranked well ahead of Muscat (50th), Riyadh (53rd) and Manama (57th) on the list, while Sana’a and Damascus were ranked the lowest of all cities involved in the survey.
Muscat, Riyadh and Manama have improved their ranking but cities in the troubled North African region like Cairo, Tunisia and Tripoli have lost vibrancy considerably.
Globally, New York, Singapore and Toronto are the leading countries with lowest level of risk while Lagos, Dhaka and Tripoli are the most volatile metropolises on the list.
Talent development, government support, education and employment practices are the factors which the researchers based their work on.
None of the Chinese cities were among the top 10 of business friendly cities despite the fact that the country has been making very rapid strides forwards in economic gains over the past decade.
No city from countries like Russia, India, South Africa and Pakistan could make its way in top 50, speaking of the volume of hurdles investor face there.
source:
Qatar Chronicle
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