Hong Kong moves up to 3rd place in the global financial centres index

HONG KONG, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) — Hong Kong has climbed one spot to third in the world and first in the Asia-Pacific region in the Global Financial Center Index, confirming the city’s status and strength as a leading global financial center.

On Tuesday, the British think tank Z/Yen Group and the China Development Institute in Shenzhen published the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) 36 report.

A spokesman for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government said Hong Kong was ranked among the best in various areas of competitiveness, including business environment, human capital, infrastructure, as well as reputation and general issues.

Hong Kong’s rankings in various sectors of the financial industry also rose significantly, including investment management, insurance, banking and professional services. Among them, the investment management ranking rose to number one in the world.

The report also assessed the financial technology offerings in financial centres, with Hong Kong rising five places to ninth in the ranking, making it one of the top 10 financial technology centres.

The spokesman said Hong Kong’s asset and wealth management sector was booming, with assets under management increasing by about 2 percent year-on-year to reach more than HK$31 trillion by the end of 2023.

Net fund inflows reached HK$390 billion, a year-on-year increase of over 3.4 times. The development of family businesses in Hong Kong continues to gain momentum. The New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme continues to receive overwhelming response since its launch in March, with over 550 applications received to date. It is expected to bring over HK$16.5 billion in investment into Hong Kong.

The spokesman said that the HKSAR government will continue to actively understand, respond to and adopt changes to promote the high-quality development of the financial sector. In the stock market, it is proactively increasing its breadth and depth, and enhancing market efficiency and competitiveness, while striving to deepen mutual financial access between the mainland and Hong Kong, so as to further strengthen Hong Kong’s role in linking the mainland and international capital markets.

The GFCI report has been published in March and September of each year since 2007. The GFCI 36 report rated 121 financial centers, with Hong Kong ranking third in the world with an overall rating of 749. (1 Hong Kong dollar equals 0.1284 U.S. dollars)