In a recent global ranking list, Singapore has surpassed Hong Kong as Asia’s leading financial center, while New York and London remain in the first and second positions. The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), which evaluates 119 cities worldwide and was released on Thursday, showed Singapore rising three spots to third place.
Hong Kong has followed China’s strict zero-Covid policies during the pandemic, causing harm to its economy and increasing the loss of talent as other business hubs have resumed operations. The city still requires a three-day hotel quarantine for all international travelers, and its border with mainland China remains largely closed. On the other hand, Singapore managed to transition to a situation of endemicity earlier in the year and has reopened without restrictions.
Singapore is playing host to several financial and business conferences in the near future, as well as a night-time Formula 1 race next week. It’s projected to receive a visit from approximately 4 million people this year. In response to the latest GFCI ranking, Hong Kong’s government emphasized the city’s improved score compared to the previous year in a 600-word statement.
The Hong Kong government emphasized their efforts in improving the city’s status as an international financial center, saying that they will take forward reforms and consolidate the capital market in their statement, but it did not address the ongoing pandemic or the COVID-19 situation. San Francisco climbed two places to fifth in the ranking, while Shanghai, impacted by China’s pandemic controls earlier this year, was sixth. Los Angeles, Beijing, and Shenzhen followed, with Paris taking the tenth spot, replacing Tokyo which dropped to 16th.