In the 1990s, economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping a decade earlier resulted in an intense redevelopment of the city, especially the Pudong New Area, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment. The city has since re-emerged as a hub for international trade and finance; it is the home of the Shanghai Stock Exchange, one of the largest stock exchanges in the world by market capitalization, and the Shanghai Free-Trade Zone, the first free-trade zone in China. As of 2020, Shanghai is classified as an Alpha+ (global first-tier) city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network and ranked as having the 3rd most competitive and largest financial center in the world behind New York City and London. It has the second-highest number of billionaires of any city in the world, the fifth-largest scientific research output of any city in the world, and highly ranked educational institutions including four Project 985 universities: Fudan University, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Tongji University, and East China Normal University.