Building boom lifts Dubai in PwC global cities rankings

Low corporate taxes and the proximity of its airports to business helped Dubai's score in a global ranking of 30 major cities by PwC.

Dubai’s economy has picked up momentum since rebounding from a debt and property crisis in 2009. Sarah Dea / The National

Dubai has been ranked as having the lowest total tax rate in a global index of 30 leading cities, a study showed.

PwC’s Cities of Opportunities index also found Dubai had the most construction activity, as well as the best airport access to central business districts. Among the other cities assessed in the ranking were London, New York, Toronto, Jakarta, Rio de Janeiro and Sydney.

The professional services company judged the cities on a range of criteria, such as affordability, transport and security. Across all overall indicators, Dubai ranked in 16th place in the index.

Hazem Galal, the Middle East partner and global leader of PwC’s cities and local government team, said Dubai’s score highlighted its progress in becoming a global gateway and an easy place to do business.

“The combination of its low corporate tax rates, the proximity of its airports to business, its cost of living and quality of life means that Dubai continues its ascent into the world’s top cities,” he said.

Dubai’s economy has picked up momentum since rebounding from a debt and property crisis in 2009. Economic growth should register 5.6 per cent this year, its highest since 2007, according to the Institute of International Finance.

PwC’s report found that Dubai ranked fourth in terms of attracting foreign direct investment and seventh for its rate of real GDP growth. Another area where it also performed strongly was its low crime rate, for which it came in fourth overall and first among emerging cities.

It came fifth in a ranking of affordability that measured cost of living, purchasing power and corporate taxes. It was behind only San Francisco, Los Angeles, Johannesburg and Toronto.

Consumer price inflation in Dubai grew 3 per cent year on year last month, with some of the sharpest jumps in housing and utilities costs, according to data released yesterday by Dubai Statistics Centre.

Several senior government and business officials have previously raised concerns about the rising cost of rent eroding Dubai’s competitiveness.

Dubai scored less well in other areas. It ranked last out of the cities studies for its sustainability and natural resources, which look at elements such as the proportion of a city’s land area designated as public recreational and green space, as well as the percentage of recycled waste.

“Dubai obviously has to contend with an extreme climate which creates a heavy reliance on air conditioning and desalinated water,” said Gus Schellekens, PwC’s Middle East sustainability leader. “However, since 2006 when sustainability was an omission in many government visions, Dubai has taken great steps to make it a central part of its policy and planning.”