Cities of the Future: Emerging Market Champions, a global research carried out by Euromonitor International placed the city of San José, the capital of Costa Rica among the 17 most developed cities in emerging markets alongside their business opportunities and challenges.

The report was released this month and was carried out in August 2016; top emerging cities are located in underdeveloped regions but feature elements of developed markets, including modern lifestyle, use of internet and high demand for quality products.

The list of cities is not intended as a ranking, but instead it highlights these 17 cities among 50 countries analyzed.

The other emerging market cities included are: Montevideo (Uruguay), Santiago (Chile), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Shanghai, Pekin, Shenzhen, Canton and Tinajin (China); Buenos Aires (Argentina), Sao Paulo (Brazil), Kuala Lumpur (Malasya), Ankara and Istanbul (Turkey), Varsovia (Poland), Budapest (Hungary) and Manama (Bahrain). San José, Costa Rica is the only city mentioned from the Central America and Caribbean region.
<em>“Expanding to these cities can be an interesting option for companies that are not yet ready to engage underdeveloped markets at full scale, but are looking for relatively safe expansion options,” explains Director of Strategy Briefings at Euromonitor International, Gina Westbrook. “However, because they are dramatically different from other cities in their respective countries, they require a well thought out business strategy.”

According to the study, it is expected that these cities will continue catching up with developed countries over the next 15 years, due mainly to a rapid economic growth. They cite high discretionary spending as a common characteristic among the emerging cities. ¨ Due to higher disposable income and growing number of single-person households, the most developed emerging cities present a lower proportion of spending on basic items; as a result, there is more room for spending in leisure activities and non-essential products, making these cities an excellent starting point for consumer goods companies looking for expansion opportunities outside their home markets,” stated Westbrook.

Euromonitor International is a global market research company focused on industries, countries, economies and consumers worldwide.