section_path: Economy
section_name: Economy
paragraph_text: Economy
  
  São Paulo is Brazil's highest GDP city and one of the largest in the world. According to data from the IBGE, its gross domestic product (GDP) in 2010 was R$450 billion, approximately US$220 billion, 12.26% of Brazilian GDP and 36% of the São Paulo state's GDP. The per capita income for the city was R$32,493 in 2008.
  
  São Paulo is considered the financial capital of Brazil, as it is the location for the headquarters of major corporations and of banks and financial institutions. The city is the headquarters of B3, the largest stock exchange of Latin America by market capitalization, and has several financial districts, mainly in the areas around Paulista, Faria Lima and Berrini avenues. 63% of all the international companies with business in Brazil have their head offices in São Paulo. São Paulo has one of the largest concentrations of German businesses worldwide and is the largest Swedish industrial hub alongside Gothenburg.
  
  As of 2014, São Paulo is the third largest exporting municipality in Brazil after Parauapebas, PA and Rio de Janeiro, RJ. In that year São Paulo's exported goods totaled $7.32B (USD) or 3.02% of Brazil's total exports. The top five commodities exported by São Paulo are soybean (21%), raw sugar (19%), coffee (6.5%), sulfate chemical wood pulp (5.6%), and corn (4.4%).
  
  São Paulo's economy is going through a deep transformation. Once a city with a strong industrial character, São Paulo's economy has followed the global trend of shifting to the tertiary sector of the economy, focusing on services. São Paulo also has a large "informal" economy. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers average annual economic growth of the city is 4.2%. In 2005, the city of São Paulo collected R$90 billion in taxes and the city budget was R$15 billion. The city has 1,500 bank branches and 70 shopping malls.
  
  The city is unique among Brazilian cities for its large number of foreign corporations. São Paulo ranked second after New York in FDi magazine 's bi-annual ranking of Cities of the Future 2013–14 in the Americas, and was named the Latin American City of the Future 2013–14. According to Mercer 's 2011 city rankings of cost of living for expatriate employees, São Paulo is among the ten most expensive cities in the world.
  
  Luxury brands tend to concentrate their business in São Paulo. Because of the lack of department stores and multi-brand boutiques, shopping malls as well as the Jardins district attract most of the world's luxurious brands. Most of the international luxury brands can be found in the Iguatemi, Cidade Jardim or JK shopping malls or on the streets of Oscar Freire, Lorena or Haddock Lobo in the Jardins district. They are home of brands such as Cartier, Chanel, Dior, Giorgio Armani, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, Tiffany & Co. Cidade Jardim was opened in São Paulo in 2008, it is a 45,000-square-meter (484,376-square-foot) mall, landscaped with trees and greenery scenario, with a focus on Brazilian brands but also home to international luxury brands such as Hermès, Jimmy Choo, Pucci and Carolina Herrera. Opened in 2012, JK shopping mall has brought to Brazil brands that were not present in the country before such as Goyard, Tory Burch, Llc., Prada, and Miu Miu.
  
  The Iguatemi Faria Lima, in Faria Lima Avenue, is Brazil's oldest mall, opened in 1966. The Jardins neighborhood is regarded among the most sophisticated places in town, with upscale restaurants and hotels. The New York Times once compared Oscar Freire Street to Rodeo Drive. In Jardins there are luxury car dealers. One of the world's best restaurants as elected by The World's 50 Best Restaurants Award, D.O.M., is there.