Savills: by 2033 Asian cities will offer the best opportunities
Asian cities will offer the most opportunities for new development and business expansion in the next decade, according to new research by Savills, which shows that 14 out of the 15 fastest-growing cities by 2033 will be in Asia. Riyadh in Saudi Arabia is the only non-Asian city that features in the top 15.
“In economic terms, cities in India and Bangladesh are set to average GDP growth of 68% between 2023 and 2033, followed by those in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam and the Philippines, by 60%,” said Paul Tostevin, director and head of world research, Savills. “They are also set to see stronger personal wealth growth, due to expanding middle classes, compared to other cities around the world.”
Indian and Chinese cities take five spots each in the top 15, followed by Vietnam with two, while the Philippines, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia have one spot each.
“Global city growth looks set to pivot further from west to east, with these cities set to be centres of innovation and important places for growing and scaling businesses,” said Simon Smith, head of research and consultancy Asia Pacific, Savills. “This will underpin future demand for offices, logistics space, and homes. Rising personal wealth and disposable incomes will also open up further retail and leisure opportunities in many cities.”
Across the world, cities have faced many challenges in recent years with the economic slowdown and the pandemic, but they are expected to see a rebound in 2024 as funding environments improve and real estate investment volumes start to recover.
However, Savills points out that with the impact of climate change and other ESG factors rising up the agenda, economic growth at the expense of everything else is increasingly being challenged.
“Future economic performance and population growth alone will not automatically put these cities at the top of our Resilient Cities Index, as this also considers ESG, sustainability, improvements in education and labour force factors and the stability, transparency and liquidity of their real estate markets to indicate which are the most resilient locations in the world,” said Tostevin.
