Financial Chickens

HONG Kong reclaimed its spot as Asia’s top financial centre, knocking Singapore back to second place in the region, according to a survey.

Globally, Hong Kong ranked third, behind New York and London in the latest Global Financial Centres Index released on Monday (Sep 23). Singapore placed fourth worldwide. Dublin, Chicago and Dubai moved up in the rankings, while Shanghai, Beijing and Geneva moved down in the index.

It’s welcome good news for Hong Kong’s finance sector, which was battered by pandemic restrictions that prompted many workers to leave the city. The property market, which has failed to recover, has slowed activity and consumer demand. The government is betting that its initiatives and lower interest rates may revive economic activity.

Other findings in the report:

58 places fell in the rankings, while 46 improved

Shenzhen overtook San Francisco to rank third in the fintech ranking

Chicago and Los Angeles climbed past Shanghai to place sixth and seventh

Sydney, Nanjing, and Tianjin fell at least 10 places

Geopolitical challenges were the most pressing risk, mentioned by more than one-fifth of respondents

The index, compiled by researchers Z/Yen Partners and the China Development Institute, assesses 121 financial centres and uses data and survey results from thousands of financial services professionals responding to an online questionnaire.

Here are the top 20 ranked financial centres:

1. New York