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  • Iloilo City - Philippines!

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    Cities have always been the natural economic units of theworld. But in the past several decades, what we once thought of as separatecities ?with central cores surrounded by rural villages, or later bysuburbs ?have grown into "megaregions" composed of two or morecities, like the Boston-New York-Washington corridor. Richard Florida of www.bnet.com

  • SHANGHAI

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    The geographical location of this city makes this city a central place to be a major participant in the country's overall economic and financial portfolio. There are too many attractions in this historical city but the Bouskoura forest is the only natural attraction in the city. Not only this but there is so many other things to do and places to visit while having a family trip or a business tour to this attraction of Morocco. You can find a lot of foreign tourists in Casablanca and if you are traveling from London, you can easily book your cheap flights to Casablanca from London.- Allen Ross

  • Curabitur faucibus

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    A city usually consists of residential, industrial and business areas together with administrative functions which may relate to a wider geographical area. A large share of a city's area is generally taken up by houses, roads, and streets. Lakes and rivers may be the only undeveloped areas within the city. - www.knowledgerush.com

  • Daegu - South Korea!

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    In a big city, people have the best chance to study and work. There are many good universities to choose from in a big city. Moreover, when you graduate, you also find it easier to find opportunities to get a good job with a good salary. That is quite difficult in small cities or countrysides, where there are not as many many big companies and groups. Hence, many graduate students choose big cities to live and work. In short, it is where you can take advantage of a city's benefits for yourself.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Zamboanga: The Asia's Latin City








Zamboanga City is a highly urbanized, independent and a chartered city located in Mindanao, Philippines. It is currently ranked as the 6th most populous city (947,020 estimated population as of 2010) and the 3rd largest by land area in the Philippines (522/km2 (1,353/sq mi)). It is located at the southernmost tip of the Zamboanga Peninsula and is bounded in the north by the provinces of Zamboanga Sibugay and Zamboanga del Norte, in the west by the Sulu Sea, in the east by Sibuguey Bay, and in the south by the Basilan Strait. It is approximately 460 nautical miles (850 km) south of City of Manila, 365 nautical miles (676 km) northeast of Kota Kinabalu, Malaysia, 345 nautical miles (639 km) northeast of Menado, Indonesia, bounded to the west by Sulu Sea, on the east by the Moro Gulf, and on the south by the Basilan Strait and Celebes Sea. Its distance from Cebu City is about 372.57 nautical miles (690.00 km), and is 340.17 nautical miles (629.99 km) from Davao City.

The Ciudad de Zamboanga’s climates are generally of the third and fourth types where it is practically from June to December. The highest rainfall occurs on the month of July while the lowest rainfalls on the month of April. The city is outside the typhoon belt, hence, typhoons rarely visit the Ciudad de Zamboanga.

It is now the centre of economic activities in Mindanao with its modern international seaport, which is one of the principal ports of call for inter-island and international shipping. Its airport, which also classified as an international airport, provides air transportation to various domestic destinations. Both seaport and airport serve as transshipment points of various goods to neighboring cities and countries.

It is the seat of one of the largest number of military and police bases in the country. It is also home of the 3rd Air Division of the Edwin Andrews Air Base, which handles the Air Force of the Philippines in the city; and the 6th Naval District in Camp General Basilio Navarro also known as Western Mindanao Command, the main headquarters of Armed Forces of the Philippines in Western part of Mindanao; the Philippine Army, Philippine Marines, and Philippine Navy are assigned to that command. The "Camp Enrile" and other three military camps can be found in the city.

It is the former capital of Moro Province now Mindanao Island (1903 to 1913) in the Philippines. On September 15, 1911, the Municipalidad de Zamboanga was converted into a Ciudad by the legislative order Act. No.272.[6] It is known as CIUDAD LATINA DE ASIA in Zamboangueño Language or in English Language Asia's Latin City for its strong Hispanic/Latin influence.

Currently, Ciudad de Zamboanga is one of the primary hubs in the Philippines, being the premier city in Zamboanga Peninsula Region in terms of commerce, trade, health services, financial institutions and education.









OFFICIAL DETAILS:

City Head: 
City Population:
City Land Area:
City Classification: Highly Urbanized City in the Philippines
Website:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zamboanga_City

AWARDS & CITATIONS:


MONIKER/NICKNAMES:
Asia's Latin City

LINKS FOR MORE ABOUT THE CITY HERE:


MORE OF THE CITY’S PIC HERE:













Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Jeddah: The Commercial Capital of Saudi Arabia

Jeddah is the gateway to the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah. Although Riyadh is the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Jeddah is known as its commercial capital. Since Jeddah is situated at the Red Sea coast, it is also known as Bride of Red Sea.

‘Jeddah’, as pronounced by its people, means prosperity and happiness. It is also pronounced as ‘Jadda’ meaning grandmother referring to mother Eve. This is in accordance to the legend that she landed here and is buried in the graveyard just outside the historical area of the old city. Another pronunciation is ‘Joddah’ and this means a narrow passage between two mountains or a long road.


Jeddah is a city of mystery, rich with tradition, history, culture and a unique heritage. It is mentioned by the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) and his Caliphs and its importance goes back even before the Islamic period.

Jeddah has been mentioned by many travelers in their journals, some describing it as "the city surrounded by walls with beautiful markets and teeming with buildings" whilst others described it as "the small city on the Red Sea coast crowded with pilgrims". Apparently there were inns, caravan sarays, and hostels catering to travelers and pilgrims. Present city has expanded and transformed into a metropolis but still holds true to its original charm and uniqueness thereby making it superb for its residents and a must for those who wish to visit her.     


A Saudi city located in the middle of the Eastern coast of the Red Sea known as the 'Bride of the Red Sea' and is considered the economic and tourism capital of the country. Its population is estimated around 3.4 million and it is the second largest city after Riyadh.


The foundation of the city of Jeddah is dated back to around 3000 years when groups of fishermen used to settle in it after their fishing trips. After that, the tribe of 'Quda'ah' came to Jeddah 2500 years ago and settled in it and was known by it. The historical transformation of Jeddah was in the era of the third Muslim Caliph Othman Bin Affan (May Allah be Pleased with Him) in 647 AD when he ordered the city to be transformed into a port to welcome pilgrims (Hajjis) coming by sea for the Holy Pilgrimage in Makkah. To this day, Jeddah is the main passage for both sea and air pilgrims as well as those traveling by road.

Jeddah has grown during the last two decades of the 20th Century, which made the city a center for money and business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a major and important port for exporting non-oil related goods as well as importing domestic needs.

OFFICIAL DETAILS:

City Head:
City Population:
City Land Area:
City Classification:
Website: http://www.jeddah.gov.sa
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeddah

AWARDS & CITATIONS:


MONIKER/NICKNAMES:

The Commercial Capital of Saudi Arabia

LINKS FOR MORE ABOUT THE CITY HERE:


MORE OF THE CITY’S PIC HERE:




Monday, May 30, 2011

Tabriz



Tabriz (Azerbaijani/Persian) is the fourth largest city and one of the historical capitals of Iran and the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. Situated at an altitude of 1,350 meters at the junction of the Quri River and Aji River, it was the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s, one of its former capitals, and residence of the crown prince under the Qajar dynasty. The city has proven extremely influential in the country’s recent history. Tabriz is located in a valley to the north of the long ridge of the volcanic cone of Sahand, south of the Eynali mountain. The valley opens out into a plain that slopes gently down to the northern end of Lake Urmia, 60 km to the west. With cold winters and temperate summers the city is considered a summer resort.

The estimated population of the city is around 1,400,000 based on results of the Iranian census bureau. Tabriz is the fourth most populated city in Iran after Tehran, Mashhad, and Esfahan, while also being a major Iranian heavy industrial and manufacturing center. Some of these industries include automobile, machine tools, oil and petrochemical and cement production.


With a rich history, Tabriz contains many historical monuments, repeated devastating earthquakes and being several invasion during frequent wars have substantially damaged many of them. Many monuments in the city are date back to the Ilkhanid, Safavid, and Qajar periods, with the large Tabriz Historic Bazaar Complex being named as a World Heritage Site in 2010.[6] Beside whole of this there is an excavation site and museum in city center with a history that date back to 2500 years.


http://www.viewiran.com/iran-tabriz.php

OFFICIAL DETAILS:
City Head: Alireza Novin
City Population: 1,398,060
City Land Area:    324 sq. km
Website: http://tabriz.ir/
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabriz

LINKS FOR THE CITY HERE:

@ http://www.viewiran.com/iran-tabriz.php


MORE OF CITY IMAGES HERE:

Friday, May 27, 2011

Campinas: The City of Swallows


Campinas is a city and municipality located in the coastal interior of the state of São Paulo, Brazil. Campinas is the administrative center of the meso-region of the same name, with 3,783,597 inhabitants as of the 2010 Census, consisting of 49 cities.

The municipal area of Campinas covers 795.667 square kilometres (307.209 sq mi). Campinas' population is 1,080,999 as of the 2010 IBGE Census;[1] while over 98.3% live in the urban region. The city's metropolitan area, as of 2000, contains nineteen cities and has a total population of 2.8 million people.


It is the third largest city in the state, after São Paulo and Guarulhos.T he Viracopos
International Airport connects Campinas with many Brazilian cities and also operates some international flights. The city is home to the State University of Campinas.

Campinas is located in the plateau (planalto, in Portuguese) of São Paulo, in the transition area to the Serra da Mantiqueira mountain range, and in the orogeographical basin of the Tiete river. It is 83 km north of the state capital São Paulo.

                  Campinas at Night is a Majestic City                      
Campinas means grass fields in Portuguese and refers to its characteristic landscape, which originally comprised large stretches of dense subtropical forests (mato grosso or thick woods in Portuguese), mainly along the many rivers, interspersed with gently rolling hills covered by low-lying vegetation.  Campinas was also known as "Cidade das Andorinhas" (City of Swallows), because it was a favorite spot for these migratory birds, which flocked annually in enormous numbers to downtown Campinas. However, they almost disappeared around the 1950s, probably because the church and plaza where they used to roost were torn down. Campinas' official crest and flag has a picture of the mythical bird, the phoenix, because it was practically reborn after a devastating epidemic of yellow fever in the 1800s, which killed more than 25% of the city's inhabitants.  An inhabitant of Campinas is called a campineiro.

OFFICIAL DETAILS:
City Head:
Population:
City Land Area: 3,645 square km.

NICKNAME/MONIKER:
Cidade das Andorinhas
Brazilian Silicon Valley
Princesa d'Oeste 
City of Swallows

Thursday, May 26, 2011

San Luis Potosi: The City of Gardens


San Luis Potosi commonly called SLP or simply San Luis, is the capital of, and most populous city in the Mexican state of the same name. The city lies at an elevation of 1,850 meters (6,070 feet). It has an estimated population of 735,886 inhabitants in the city proper, and a population of approximately 1,021,688 in its metropolitan area which is formed with the neighbor city of Soledad and some other small townships inside the urban area. This makes the metropolitan area of Greater San Luis Potosi he tenth largest in Mexico.
The city of San Luis Potosi is located in the west-central part of the state of San Luis Potosi at 22.16, 100.98. The municipality has an area of 1,443.14 km?(557.2 sq mi).

The city is named after Louis IX of France (also known in Mexico as San Luis Rey de Francia; Saint Louis, King of France), who is the city's patron saint. Potosi was added in reference to the fabulously rich mines of Potosi Bolivia, discovered some forty years before the city was founded, as the exploitation of silver and gold mines in Cerro de San Pedro near San Luis was the main reason for the founding of the city in 1592. Nowadays the city is one of the
Aerial View of San Luis Potosi
main industrial centres in central Mexico with a prolific manufacturing industry. A number of foreign industries have chosen to invest in San Luis Potosi in the last decades thanks to its strategic location for trade, as the city is located halfway Mexico City and the United

States border, as well as in the middle of the triangle formed by Mexico City and the other two largest cities in Mexico, Guadalajara and Monterrey.

Besides its industry-based economy, recently the city has been promoted as a touristic destination in central Mexico by state and federal programs. San Luis Potosi historic downtown displays a great mixture of different artistic styles in many buildings and it's a major example of colonial architecture in Mexico. In 2010 the historic center of the city was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site within Camino Real de Tierra Adentro.

OFFICIAL DETAILS:
City Land Area: 385 square km.
City Population: 685,934
(Proper)
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Luis_Potos%C3%AD,_San_Luis_Potos%C3%AD

MONIKER/NICKNAMES: 
"La Ciudad de los Jardies (The City of Gardens)"

MORE OF SAN LUIS POTOSI LINKS HERE:
@ http://www.gotomexico.net/san-luis-potosi.html

MORE OF SAN LUIS POTOSI IMAGES HERE:

Monday, May 23, 2011

Cagayan de Oro: The City of Golden Friendship





A growing metropolis classified as a first-class city, Cagayan de Oro serves as the regional center being the most populous highly-urbanized city in Northern Mindanao (Region X) noted for its accessibility, business growth, and tourism attractions. According to the 2007 Census, the city has an estimated population of 553,996 inhabitants.


Cagayan de Oro is considered as a melting pot in Mindanao. The name Cagayan de Oro may appear abbreviated as CDO, CDOC, CdeO or Cag. de Oro.





Cagayan de Oro is a veritable goldmine for those in search of new tourist and investment destination.

The city has a reservoir of advantages: no typhoons all year round, rich agricultural environments, a broad consumer and manpower base, cheap and abundant power, strategically located internation seaports, modern telecommunication facilities, adequate infrastructure and a highly efficient educational system.As the trade and service center of Northern Mindanao, the city is a prime location for cost-effective air, land and sea transit. Moreover, its striving business community and the necessary business support facilities makes the process of doing business relaxed and pleasurable.

The soundness of the Cagayan de Oro business climate as well as its metropolitan flavor combined with the warm and easy nature of the local people gives it a self-contained setting that motivated an increasing number expatriate business to stay in the city for good.





As an urban center with a regional market orientation, a high level of market sophistication and an economy closely intertwined with the economies of the entire region, the city is poised for planned, rapid and sustained growth. 


OFFICIAL DETAILS:
City Head:
City Population:
City Land Area
Classification:
Website: 
Wikipedia:

NICKNAMES/MONIKER:
"City of Golden Friendship"
Gateway to Northern Mindanao
A City in Bloom, in Blossom and in Boom!
ICT Goldmine of the Philippines
Rafting Capital of the Philippines





LINKS ABOUT CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY HERE:
@ http://www.cdokay.com

MORE OF CAGAYAN DE ORO IMAGES HERE:






 

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Kaohsiung: The Maritime Capital

Kaohsiung (old names: Takao, Takow, Takau) is a city located in southwestern Taiwan. Kaohsiung faces the Taiwan Strait on the west. Kaohsiung, officially named Kaohsiung City, is divided into thirty-eight districts. The city is one of five special municipalities in Taiwan (Republic of China). On December 25, 2010, it merged with Kaohsiung County to form a larger municipality.

Kaohsiung is the second largest city in Taiwan, with a population around 2.9 million. It is a center for manufacturing, refining, shipbuilding, and other light and heavy industries. A major port, through which pass most of Taiwan's marine imports and exports, is located at the city but is not managed by the city government.


Kaohsiung International Airport serving the city is the second largest airport in Taiwan. The
Port of Kaohsiung is the largest harbor in Taiwan. Kaohsiung is the terminal of the Sun Yat-sen Freeway. The city is served by the railway stations of Western Line and Pingtung Line. Taiwan High Speed Rail connects it with Taipei City. The Kaohsiung Mass Rapid Transit, the city's subway system, was launched in early 2008. Kaohsiung was the host city of the 2009 World Games, a multisport event primarily composed of sports not featured in the Olympic Games. The city is also home to the Republic of China Navy.


OFFICIAL DETAILS: 
City Head: Chen Chu
City Population: 2,769,072
City Land Area: 939.9 sq. km.
MONIKER/NICKNAMES:
The Harbor City (Gangdu)
The Maritime Capital
The Waterfront City

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Fort Lauderdale: The Venice of America

Fort Lauderdale is located in the east-central portion of Broward County, Florida approximately 23 miles north of Miami and 42 miles south of Palm Beach. The City shares boundaries with nine other municipalities, as well as unincorporated areas of the County. Encompassing more than 33 square miles, Fort Lauderdale is the seventh largest city in Florida and the largest of Broward County’s 30 municipalities.

Incorporated on March 27, 1911, the City of Fort Lauderdale is situated on the southeast coast of Florida, centrally located between Miami and Palm Beach. Encompassing more than 33 square miles with a population of nearly 180,000, Fort Lauderdale is the largest of Broward County's 30 municipalities and the seventh largest city in Florida. Embraced by the Atlantic Ocean, New River and a myriad of scenic inland waterways, Fort Lauderdale truly lives up to its designation as the "Venice of America."


The City of Fort Lauderdale is named for a Second Seminole War fortification built on the banks of New River in 1838. In that year, Major William Lauderdale led a detachment of Tennessee Volunteers south along the east coast of Florida to capture Seminole agricultural lands and battle the elusive Indian warriors. Altogether, three forts named after Major Lauderdale would be constructed: the first at the fork of New River; the second at Tarpon Bend; and the largest on the beach at the site of Bahia Mar. None of the forts survives today.

An advantageous economic climate is helping the City of Fort Lauderdale establish itself as a world-class international business center and one of the most desirable locations for new, expanding or relocating businesses. Once known strictly as a tourism-based economy, Fort Lauderdale now supports a diverse range of industries, including marine, manufacturing, finance, insurance, real estate, high technology, avionics/aerospace, film and television production.

              Aerial Downtown of Ft. Lauderdale                  
Fort Lauderdale also offers an outstanding quality of life, highlighted by a semi-tropical climate, rich natural beauty and array of cultural, entertainment and educational amenities. Blessed with over 3,000 hours of sunshine each year and pleasant year-round ocean breezes, world-famous Fort Lauderdale Beach offers premier opportunities for recreation, relaxation and enjoyment. The picturesque Riverwalk serves as the cornerstone of the City's arts, science, cultural and historic district which features the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, Museum of Discovery and Science, Museum of Art and Old Fort Lauderdale Village and Museum. Las Olas Boulevard has gained international acclaim as Fort Lauderdale's centerpiece of fashion, fine dining and entertainment. In addition, the City's downtown area is home to Broward Community College, Florida Atlantic University, Florida International University, the award-winning Broward County Main Library, federal, county and school district offices.


Through the cooperative efforts of residents, businesses and local government, Fort Lauderdale has evolved into a City that offers the best of both worlds - an attractive business environment and an outstanding quality of life. Fort Lauderdale is a great place to live, work and raise a family, and the City looks forward to continuing to build upon its success to meet the challenges of the 21st Century and beyond.

OFFICIAL DETAILS:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Lauderdale,_Florida

MORE IMAGES FOR FT. LAUDERDALE:

Aerial View of Ft. Lauderdale
Downtown of Fort Lauderdale

Friday, May 13, 2011

New Outsourcing Hot Spot Cities

Top Outsourcing Hot Spots according to businessweek.com:

1. Buenos Aires, Argentina

Located in roughly the same time zone as the East Coast of the U.S. (it depends on the time of year), Argentina's huge capital offers a cheap alternative for companies looking to provide customer service for American consumers. IBM and Hewlett Packard already have IT operations in Buenos Aires, which also has a large talent pool of Spanish, English, and Portuguese speakers.
2. Campinas, Brazil
Campinas, in Brazil's northeast region, is an R&D center, tapping a large pool of engineering and technology graduates from the local University of Campina. Compared with congested São Paulo, the laid-back city with a population just over a million provides a high quality of life for both local and expat employees.

3. Curitiba, Brazil
 

Already home to customer service centers for the likes of HSBC, Siemens, and ExxonMobil, Curitiba, located in Brazil's southeast, churns out almost 20,000 IT-trained graduates from local colleges. City authorities also have upgraded the telecom and energy infrastructure, creating a brand new outsourcing park for technology-focused companies.

4. Calgary, Canada




Calgary boasts the highest immigration rate of any Canadian city, ensuring it a fast-growing pool of talent. The city also offers tax breaks and research funding for companies that set up shop there, and a large percentage of the workforce is bilingual in English and French.


5. Winnipeg, Canada


The Canadian city outstrips domestic rivals when it comes to overall business competitiveness. High-quality infrastructure, such as state-of-the-art office space and IT parks, helps offset the higher labor costs compared to rivals in the developing world.

6. Santiago, Chile

The Chilean government has set up lucrative financial and technological support to entice high-tech companies to the country's capital. Citigroup and Yahoo! already operate in Santiago, which offers lower operating and living costs compared with cities in the developed world.



7. Guadalajara, Mexico

 

 Despite the recent spate of violence across Mexico, Guadalajara, inland from the country's Pacific coast, continues to attract foreign companies. Roughly 18,000 IT-trained graduates enter the local workforce each year, which has led to a growing hub of software and engineering design centers funded by the likes of Intel.


8. Queretaro, Mexico
Located in southern Mexico, Queretaro is quickly becoming an alternative to other domestic outsourcing hubs, such as Monterrey in the north. Local authorities are spending millions to upgrade transport and industrial infrastructure in the hopes of turning the city into an IT service center.


9. Boise, Idaho
Alongside a highly trained graduate pool from Boise State University, Idaho's capital also has a bustling startup scene, which has created a culture of entrepreneurship. The city's lower cost-of-living compared with other U.S. rivals doesn't mean it is a culture backwater. Boise routinely ranks near the top of best U.S. cities in which to live.

10. Indianapolis, Ind.
 
Not only is Indianapolis located near a number of large U.S. cities, such as Chicago, but Indiana's capital offers several local centers of excellence. The city is well known for its life-science industry and is home to a large IT-trained talent pool of graduates from local colleges. Consultants KPMG also ranked Indianapolis third in a nationwide survey of cities with the most cost-effective tax structure.

11. Sofia, Bulgaria

 
To make Sofia into an IT hub, city officials have offered tax breaks and other incentives to companies relocating to Bulgaria's capital. Within easy reach of Western Europe, Sofia's labor costs are roughly 10% less than those in Germany, but still twice the Bulgarian average.

12. Zagreb, Croatia
 
The Croatian capital has a multilingual workforce, a time zone suitable for servicing Western European customers, and labor costs significantly lower than those in countries like Italy and France. Colleges in Zagreb also turn out thousands of IT-qualified graduates each year, which has attracted firms such as Siemens to set up shop there.

13. Cairo, Egypt
 
With a population proficient in both English and Arabic, Cairo offers outsourcing possibilities for companies from both Western Europe and elsewhere in the Middle East. Local authorities have provided tax incentives for companies establishing bases in the Egyptian capital, which is home to a young, tech-trained population.

14. Belfast, United Kingdom
 
Putting aside its violent history, Belfast is quickly becoming an outsourcing hub for companies serving the British market. Firms like Microsoft and Citigroup are attracted by the city's youthful population (46% are under 30), large pool of IT graduates, and business costs are one-third lower than in the rest of Britain.

15. Port Louis, Mauritius
 
Located just off the coast of Madagascar, Port Louis, the Mauritian capital, is routinely ranked as one of the best places to live in Africa. The city's booming tourism industry means the local workforce is well versed in customer service, and the government is spending millions to upgrade domestic IT and transport infrastructure.

16. Gdansk, Poland

 
An upcoming European soccer tournament means the historic Polish seaside city's infrastructure is getting a major face-lift. That, combined with an IT-trained, local workforce strong in English, German, and Russia, makes Gdansk a cheap alternative to domestic rivals Warsaw and Krakow.

17. Cluj-Napoca, Romania
 
Already home to the largest percentage of students per capita in Romania, Cluj-Napoca benefits from major university-based tech R&D centers and a growing multilingual graduate pool. Local officials also have provided generous tax incentives to entice foreign tech and manufacturing companies to relocate to the country's third-largest city.

18. Rostov-on-Don, Russia
 
Despite Russia's recent economic problems, Rostov-on-Don, in the country's southwest, attracted the third-largest amount of foreign investment of any Russian city in 2008. Key to the interest is Rostov's significantly lower business costs than those of domestic alternatives such as Moscow and St. Petersburg.


19. Belgrade, Serbia
 
Local authorities are working hard to attract foreign companies. That includes a cash grant for every additional job created, and plans to upgrade the city's infrastructure. No wonder companies like Microsoft have set up IT service centers in the Serbian capital.


20. Tunis, Tunisia

With a multilingual population (Arabic, French, English) and close cultural ties to Europe, Tunis is a logical destination for companies looking to service the European market. To add extra incentives, the Tunisian government is planning to spend $3 billion on a financial services business cluster, dubbed the Tunis Financial Harbor, to attract outsourcing clients.

21. Lviv, Ukraine
 
Like Gdansk, Lviv's infrastructure is set for a major upgrade ahead of a European-wide soccer tournament in 2012. The city also is home to a large population of young IT and engineering graduates, and offers business costs far below those of the Ukrainian capital Kiev.


22. Brisbane, Australia
Brisbane, on Australia's eastern coast, is gaining a reputation as a technology R&D hub. The city has a higher number of tech graduates per capita than any other Australian city, and is surprisingly international—16% of households speak a non-English language. Business costs also are roughly 15% lower than in rivals Melbourne and Sydney.


23.
Changsha, China
 Already identified by Chinese authorities as one of 13 cities in the nation expected to become outsourcing hubs, Changsha offers benefits well beyond its tech-savvy population and lucrative government incentives. The city, located in central China, is home to nearly 50% of the country's animation companies and is marketing itself as a center for animation outsourcing to the West.

24. Hangzhou, China
With 18,000 IT graduates entering the workforce each year, Hangzhou is fast becoming a center for financial services outsourcing. In the first three quarters of 2008, the sector represented 43% of the city's total outsourcing business in dollar terms—a figure that is expected to rise despite the global recession.

25. Ahmedabad, India
 
With a large population of finance and accounting professionals, Ahmedabad, on India's west coast, is set to become one of the country's major outsourcing centers. The population's English proficiency may not match more-established hubs, but Ahmedabad's business costs are roughly one-third less than cities like Mumbai and Bangalore.

26. Jaipur, India

 Jaipur is home to 64 engineering colleges, and soon will open a business-friendly Special Economic Zone complete with 2 million square meters of IT office space. Recently, the city was ranked third in a World Bank report comparing the ease of doing business in Indian cities.


27. Nagpur, India
 
The Indian city, known for its engineering and medical expertise, already is gaining reputation among international companies. Boeing has established a $185 million maintenance center in Nagpur, and a new 1,220 acre Special Economic Zone being set up near the city's airport will add additional IT office space.

28. Penang, Malaysia



Boasting a large, English-speaking IT workforce, Penang is particularly suited for companies looking for higher-end IT outsourcing, such as in the pharmaceuticals or financial services industries. Penang also is developing into an outsourcing center for Islamic banking. 

29. Davao City, Philippines
 Located in the Philippines' southernmost island, Davao City is home to an English-speaking talent pool with many cultural ties to the U.S. That means the city is well-suited for U.S. consumer support, particularly in technological areas due to various IT colleges established in the city.
 

30. Iloilo City, Philippines 
Already identified by Philippine authorities as one of the next wave of IT outsourcing centers, Iloilo City has received large government grants to upgrade its IT and transport infrastructure. The well-trained, English-speaking population makes the city an ideal option for companies looking for a cheap alternative for U.S. consumer support.


31. Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
 Though Vietman is still a communist country, officials plan to turn Ho Chi Minh City into an IT hub by 2010. Big names like IBM and Oracle already have set up shop, taking advantage of lucrative tax breaks and government programs to upgrade the city's infrastructure.

 

source: