HCM City has been ranked among the 20 most dynamic cities globally by US-based financial and professional services firm Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL).

The firm revealed the list through its City Momentum Index (CMI) paper in late January.

This is JLL's second annual CMI, which captures the dynamics of a city's real-estate market - its rates of construction and absorption, price movement and the attraction of a city's built environment for cross-border capital.

The CMI selected HCM City as one among six new cities, including Sydney and Melbourne, to figure in the top 20. The city's construction levels are high, although growth rates are exaggerated by the small size of the existing commercial real-estate market.

Meanwhile, London has topped the CMI list because of its robust economic fundamentals, further boosted by large volumes of cross-border real-estate investment and a positive outlook for commercial property prices. San Jose or Silicon Valley, which is the global hub of the high-tech venture capital industry, is ranked second and is followed by Beijing.

Despite an economic slowdown, China is still home to seven of the world's 20 most dynamic cities, including Shanghai and Wuhan in the fifth and eighth positions, respectively.

The CMI also pointed out that the technology sector continues to be a major driver of city momentum across the globe as technology giants and start-ups invest in new technologies and infrastructure and generate jobs. Several of the world's technology-rich cities appear in the Top 20, including Boston, San Francisco and Bangalore.

The index also assessed 120 cities with a weighted overall score, based on 37 variables, including short-term socio-economic momentum variables, short-term commercial real-estate momentum variables and longer term variables.

More foreign visitors

Total revenue from the city's tourism sector in January amounted to VND7.8 trillion (US$366 million), up 7 per cent compared with the same period last year.

Last year, the city received a total of 4.4 million foreign visitors, accounting for 53 per cent of the number of international visitors to Viet Nam.

Total revenue of the city's tourism sector, including revenue of travel agencies and the hospitality industry, was estimated at VND86 trillion ($4.04 billion), representing 34 per cent of Viet Nam's tourism sector last year.

To further sustainable development of the tourism industry, HCM City has signed regional alliances with neighbouring provinces and countries and diversified tourist services.

In addition, it has launched the programme "The city's tourism sector has responsibility for the environment".

The city has also planned more cultural and entertainment activities to enhance its regional reputation as a major tourism destination.

City authorities will also launch tourism promotions and work with localities in Viet Nam and countries in the region to enhance tourism cooperation.

The promotions include improvements of periodic cultural and tourist events, such as International Tourism Expo 2015, annual tourist festivals, and the launch of inland waterway tours and art shows for tourists.

The city targets 4.7 million foreign visitors and 19.3 million local tourists this year, which would bring an estimated total revenue of VND98.26 trillion ($4.61 billion).

VNS