According to the most recent edition of the semi-annual Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), Singapore is still the best financial center in Asia, beating out Hong Kong by just one point.
The global top five is unchanged in the 35th edition of the semi-annual survey from the September edition, with Singapore and Hong Kong ranking third and fourth, respectively, behind New York and London but ahead of San Francisco. In 2022, Singapore surpassed Hong Kong to become the leading financial hub in Asia.
133 financial centers are included in the study conducted by the London think tank Z/Yen Partners and the Shenzhen-based China Development Institute. Not one of the top 20 centers changed positions by more than four places.
“This suggests no major changes in the economic outlook across the leading economies in the world,” the report said. “New York continues to have a clear lead over second place London in the index. Singapore and Hong Kong rank third and fourth with only one point separating them. San Francisco held on to fifth place.”
Based on five competitiveness criteria—business environment, human capital, infrastructure, development of the financial sector, and reputation and general—Singapore was judged to be more competitive than Hong Kong.
The average rating increase in Asia-Pacific was 1.89 percent.
Shanghai moved up one spot to sixth place, and Seoul moved up one spot to tenth place. Beijing, on the other hand, fell two spots to take 15th place.
Asia-Pacific centers were rated higher than the global average by respondents from western Europe and North America.
Asia accounted for eight of the top 15 spots when asked which centers respondents expected to become more significant in the next two to three years, with Seoul and Singapore receiving the most mentions. Hong Kong and Dubai received the next-highest mentions. Additional financial hubs included on this list were Shenzhen, Gift City in Gujarat, India, Beijing, Shanghai, and Busan, South Korea.
“In general, people are more optimistic about the future of their own centre than people outside that centre,” the study said. “Those in Hong Kong and Singapore are most confident about the future competitiveness of their centre.”
Financial centers are ranked in the report using a “factor assessment” model, which combines ratings from survey participants and a statistical model that is based on quantitative data. The ultimate ranking is produced by combining the two.
In the survey section, financial sector participants are asked to rate each center on a 10-point scale from very poor to excellent as a place to do business. The questionnaire is completed online. Quantitative information about every financial center is used in the statistical model.
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