Cebu City among top Asian cities of the future

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By Cebu Network Published January 11th, 2008 Cebu City ranked eighth in an Asia-wide survey for the Asian Cities of the Future by the Finance Direct Investment (fDi) magazine of the Financial Times Group. Cebu City also placed 2nd in development and promotion, next to Singapore; 4th in the list of 10 most cost-effective cities, and 7th in the best quality of life category. Mayor Tomas Osmeña, according to this Sun.Star Cebu report, welcomed the survey result but said the whole Philippines should improve so that other cities can fare better in the ranking. He said that if other areas of the country are left out in development, Cebu will be burdened by the influx of people. Osmeña said Cebu “cannot be number one if the whole Philippines doesn’t improve.” The survey on “Asian Cities of the Future,” according to the Sun.Star Cebu report, was conducted by Foreign Direct Investment magazine published by the Financial Times (FT) group in the United Kingdom. The report said 60 criteria—from cost effectiveness to human resources and infrastructure—were used by the magazine in evaluating more than 200 big and small cities all over Asia. The judges of the survey include independent location consultants, corporate professionals and other inward investment experts. Cebu Investment Promotions Center (CIPC) Managing Director Joel Mari Yu told Sun.Star Cebu that the city’s ranking is a recognition of what the private sector and the government have done to improve the city. Yu, however, said the city would have fared better if basic infrastructure such as roads, water and power supply were improved. “Infrastructure is our weakest point. It should be the focus of our programs in improving business environment. Water and power supply should be the main focus and it should be privatized to ensure stability of supply. The roads should be improved to address congestion in the streets,” Yu said.