Hong Kong keeps fourth spot in global financial centre rankings
Hong Kong remains in fourth place in the latest global ranking of international financial centres, published on Thursday, as the city ramps up efforts to consolidate its financial edge through various measures.
The 35th edition of the semi-annual Global Financial Centres Index, released by London-based think tank Z/Yen Group and Shenzhen-based think tank China Development Institute, showed that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ranked fourth among the 121 financial centres across the globe.
An HKSAR government spokesperson said the city has maintained its international character and played the role of a bridge connecting the Chinese mainland to the world, while actively integrating into the country's financial reform and opening-up pattern.
"To this end, a series of policy initiatives have been announced in the 2024-25 Budget, with a view to better integrating a capable government and an efficient market, and promoting the development of Hong Kong's financial markets to a higher level,” the spokesperson said.
No changes were seen in the top five positions. New York held on to first place as the world's most competitive financial hub, with London, Singapore, and San Francisco in second, third and fifth place respectively.
Among the HKSAR's mainland peers, Shanghai and Shenzhen each moved up one spot, ranking sixth and 11th globally, while Beijing slid two places to 15th. The four cities are all listed as "Centers Likely to Become More Significant".
Additionally, Wuhan, Hangzhou, and Dalian have seen their rankings rise by nine, five, and five places respectively, further enhancing their global profile.
Since 2007, the joint ranking by the British and mainland think tanks has been released in March and September every year. The latest index is based on a global online questionnaire and uses 145 instrumental factors provided by third parties including the World Bank, The Economist Intelligence Unit, the OECD and the United Nations.
The factors are grouped into five areas — business environment, human capital, infrastructure, financial sector development and reputation.
Financial centres in the Asia-Pacific region showed strong performance, with four of the world’s top 10 coming from the region, according to the latest report. Among the top 15 financial centres in the region, only two cities saw their rankings drop.
Singapore overtook Hong Kong to become Asia’s top financial centre in 2022.
To restore Hong Kong’s allure, the city has been acting on multiple fronts, from opening up its virtual asset sector and proceeding with its offshore renminbi business, to wooing super-rich families. The latest figures from a Deloitte study showed Hong Kong hosted 2,703 single-family offices as of the end of last year, with 885 of them managing at least $100 million in assets.
Separately, Hong Kong ranked ninth among the most attractive regions for doing business over the next five years, while Singapore has retained its top spot, according to the latest business environment rankings by the Economist Intelligence Unit, the research and analysis division of The Economist Group. Last year the SAR ranked in seventh place.
Liu Yifan
China Daily
Asia News Network
