Hong Kong regained the rank of Asian’s leading financial centre leaving behind Singapore as per Global Financial Centres Index. The survey published here on Monday ranked Hong Kong third internationally behind New York and London, while Singapore ranked fourth internationally. This development is a big positive for Hong Kong’s financial industry which has been hit hard as people left the city because of Covid restrictions.
It is a well-known performance rating tool in the financial sector ranking cities according to a number of criteria including general business climate, talent pool, communications and transportation infrastructure, state of development of the financial services industry and other factors. This is likely to be argued with the recent rise of Hong Kong back to the rank of being the top commerce city within the Asian region as a sign that the city has recovered from some of the tough times it has faced in the recent past.
This change in rankings is particularly good for the finance industry in Hong Kong, as it seeks to power the economy again after the COVID restriction relaxations. The city’s government has been undertaking measures that seeks to encourage talent and business to return to the financial hub. As well, expectations of lower interest rates have served to fan volitions of possible future revival of the economy.
While Hong Kong has much to cheer about its return to the number one in Asia, Singapore’s slip to second place in the region and fourth in the world is still something to write home about. The city-state has not wavered on its position as a safe and often desirable place for doing business across borders. The head to head competition between Hong Kong and Singapore clearly exemplifies the concept that competition in the international financial market is tough and continual competition between the two cities to improve its offering to international financial players.
The report also presents some striking features of the changes in the Global Financial Center indices. There were some movement in the ranking; Dublin moved up, Chicago improved its position, and so on while on the flip side Shanghai, Beijing and Geneva regressed their position. These shifting vertices in the ranking table testify the dynamics in international finance and the extent of effects of various economic and geo-political forces on various these financial cities.
The new assessment shows that, in the fintech field, Shenzhen has replaced San Francisco to become the third biggest hub of the industry, signaling the rise of Chinese cities in an increasingly popular class of ventures. The enhancement of Shenzhen fintech rankings shows that the impact of Chinese technology is expanding more into the global financial service industry.
According to the survey being conducted, geopolitical risks were named as a most concerning risk by more than one fifth of the respondents. This underlines the growing role of political stability and relations between states for the future of financial centers all over the world.
To Singapore, although the loss of the best location in Asia may be considered a down point, it needs to be understood that Singapore remains to be a strong contender on the international front. Singapore has been continuously ranked among the top ten global financial centres due to mature financial network, supportive legal and institutional framework, political stability and regional location.
Stakes are expected to heighten in the course of the next few years with both organisation, Hong Kong and Singapore vying for the opportunity to be the financial hub. The two cities provide various incentives to business and investors and the government of both cities is still expected to strengthen policies to turn the two cities into international financial cities.
Persons looking for the rankings of the financial centres are sure to remain in the soup as the global economic system is likely to go through changes due to several reasons including, but not limited to, technological advancement, changing regulations, and shift in the global trade systems. There is a need for both Hong Kong and Singapore to remain flexible and responsive to remain as some of Asia’s and the world’s leading financial centers.
These rankings do not merely hold the trappings of status or honor as their implications go beyond that consideration. They can impact investment strategies, ‘talent’ acquisition and even policy advancements in these cities. Thus, this fight to be known as the world’s leading financial hub is not for fun as it affects actual economic performance of the cities and the entire regions that they represent.
