Top-quality cities

Remember I told you that DCs have most people working in the tertiary industries. Most people who work in the tertiary industries use their brains more than they use their hands. That’s why they are earning more. Singapore is moving in this direction and therefore we want our people to work in a knowledge-based economy. In other words, we use knowledge (your brain) to earn money. Some of the knowledge-based industries include, IT, medical technology, education, R & D etc. If you want to find out which are the top-quality cities… read on.

The Straits Times Feb 16, 2008

FINANCE Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam cited five places that are now famed for their knowledge-based industries.
They include established leaders as well as newly-emerging cities.

MUNICH
Once reliant on the car industry, it is today a high-tech, knowledge-based city.
The German city is home to leading biotechnology research centres like the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry as well as corporate giants such as BMW and Siemens.
It also boasts vibrant SMEs with world-beating technologies.
Rated world's most liveable city last year.

AUSTIN
This Texan city is fast becoming a centre of innovation for clean technology.
Named the best place for business in the US.
It has the third-highest number of patents among US cities in 2005, and more than 44 per cent of its people has a college degree.

HYDERABAD
Dubbed India's second Silicon Valley after Bangalore, it has invested heavily in education, research and digital infrastructure.
It is home to IT giant Satyam. Microsoft, IBM and Novartis are also there.

KYOTO
A city endowed with centuries-old traditions, beautiful temples and gardens.
Today, it is also major innovation hub with numerous high-tech start-ups. Also, an assortment of incubator facilities.
It is home to global companies like Murata, Kyocera, and Nintendo as well as many small, dynamic firms with world-leading technologies.
Five of Japan's nine Nobel prizes in science were from Kyoto University.

CHINA
Besides Beijing and Shanghai, second- and third-tier cities such as Hangzhou, Qingdao and Yantai are developing highly- competitive industry clusters.