LAS VEGAS-Hong Kong is the world's hottest retail market, attracting significantly more new entrants than any other city, according to the 2013 edition of How Global is the Business of Retail? by leading global property advisor CBRE.

CBRE's annual survey—now in its sixth year—maps the global footprint of 320 of the world's top retailers across more than 200 cities, tracking cross-border retailer movements. The report found that retailers expanded into a wide range of markets in 2012, with 81% of cities seeing at least one new retailer enter the market.

U.S. retailers are by far the most aggressive when expanding store networks globally. Traditionally U.S. retailers have focused on Asian and Western European markets; however, they are increasingly targeting the Middle East (18% of all new entrants were U.S. retailers last year), Central & Eastern Europe (17%), and Latin America (10%). Italian, British and French retailers are also highly active, focusing mainly on their own region, although Asia is also a key target.