Forbes: London Most Influential City In the World

Forbes' list of "The World's Most Influential Cities 2014" has ranked London as the most influential city in the world because it attacts more foreign investment than rivals like New York, which came in second.

According to the study, London attracted more than double the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) deals than New York, and now houses a significant amount of corporate headquarters.

The report added that London's appeal and influence was also helped by facilities that make it easy for people to travel to other global cities.

"London is not only the historic capital of the English language, which contributes to its status as a powerful media hub and major advertising centre, but it's also the birthplace of the cultural, legal and business practices that define global capitalism," said Joel Kotkin, author of the study and contributor to Forbes.

"Beyond these traditional strengths, London has become Europe's top technology start-up centre, according to the Startup Genome project. The city has upward of 3,000 tech startups, as well as Google's largest office outside Silicon Valley.

"Compared to New York, it is also time-zone advantaged for doing business in Asia, and has the second best global air connections of any city after Dubai, with nonstop flights at least three times week to 89% of global cities outside of its home region of Europe."

Paris ranked third place in the study, while Singapore, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Dubai, Beijing, Sydney and Los Angeles followed closely behind.

"London has many outstanding attributes that are recognised worldwide, including a deep pool of talent, superb access to markets and financial backing, and a well-earned reputation for innovation and creativity," said Gordon Innes, CEO of London & Partners, the Mayor's promotional company for the capital.

I am proud that Forbes has recognised these strengths in this study, and we will continue to showcase London to the outside world, not only helping as many companies as possible to come to our city, but also creating new jobs and economic growth that will benefit both London and the UK."

London has claimed the top spot in a number of reports over the last few months.

In May 2014, London was ranked number one in PwC's "Cities of Opportunity" study, which analysed the development of 30 global cities.

It found that London is "technologically on top of its game", earning top rankings for software and multimedia development and design, and also performing well in broadband quality and internet access in schools.