A highly anticipated study reveals the re-emergence of the "New York-London-Hong Kong" dynamic in the global financial hub rankings after a two-year hiatus.
On September 24th, the British think tank Z/Yen Group, in collaboration with the China (Shenzhen) Comprehensive Development Research Institute, jointly released the "36th Global Financial Centers Index Report (GFCI 36)". New York, London, and Hong Kong secured the top three positions, with Hong Kong, which had dropped to fourth place in the 32nd edition, surpassing Singapore to reclaim the third global spot.
Additionally, 12 mainland Chinese cities made it onto the list, with Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing all entering the global top 20. Shenzhen's financial technology ranking debuted in the global top three for the first time.
It is reported that the list is updated semi-annually, released in March and September each year. This edition selected 121 financial centers from 133 research subjects to be included in the list.
The report indicates that the development expectations for global financial centers are stable with a slight decline, with the overall average score decreasing by 0.42% in this edition. Except for Latin America and the Caribbean region, the average scores of financial centers in other regions have all experienced a decline. In terms of ranking trends, 46 financial centers saw an increase in their rankings, 17 remained unchanged, and 58 experienced a decline.
Notably, New York and London firmly hold the first and second positions, respectively. After trailing behind Singapore for four consecutive editions, Hong Kong has now overtaken Singapore to rank third globally, with a total score that is only one point behind London. The report suggests that this reflects a stable overall structure of top-tier financial centers, yet the competition is exceptionally fierce. Furthermore, North American financial centers are showing an upward trend, with Chicago and Los Angeles surpassing Shanghai, rising by 3 and 1 positions, respectively. Shanghai is currently ranked 8th, while Shenzhen and Frankfurt have entered the top 10.
Looking at the regions, the three major financial center clusters of Asia-Pacific, North America, and Western Europe exhibit distinctly different characteristics. The Asia-Pacific financial centers have seen a slight decline in rankings, North American financial centers remain generally stable, and Western European financial centers have shown a significant decrease.
The Asia-Pacific region's average score decreased by 0.56%. Among the top 10 cities in the region, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, and Busan saw an increase in their rankings, while Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, and six other cities experienced a decline, with Sydney dropping by 10 positions.
The Western European region has the most pronounced decline among all regions, with an average score decrease of over 1%, and a prominent divergence. This time, seven financial centers from Western Europe made it into the global top 20. London maintains its position as the regional leader and the second globally, Frankfurt entered the global top 10, Dublin entered the global top 15, but the rankings of Geneva, Paris, Zurich, and Luxembourg have seen varying degrees of decline.The overall score in North America decreased by 0.38% compared to the previous period, but only two out of the 14 financial centers in the region saw a decline in their rankings. New York remains the number one global financial center, with San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles still firmly in the top 10 globally. Washington has entered the top 20 globally.
In the Middle East and Africa, Dubai and Abu Dhabi continue to maintain the first and second positions in the region. Dubai rose by four places to the 16th globally.
The report indicates that there have been no significant changes in the economic outlook of the world's major economies. The global economy continues to grow slowly with a decrease in inflation, and geopolitical conflicts remain the most concerning risk for financial professionals.
The report shows that a total of 13 Chinese cities entered the GFCI 36 list, in order: Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Beijing, Qingdao, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Dalian, Hangzhou, Nanjing, Tianjin, Wuhan, and Xi'an.
The Comprehensive Development Research Institute (CDRI) in Shenzhen, China, analyzed that the overall ranking of Chinese financial centers has declined, with top financial centers facing competitive challenges.
Specifically, out of China's 13 financial centers, only two cities saw an increase in their scores, while the other 11 financial centers experienced a decrease in their scores.
In terms of global rankings, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Wuhan each rose by 1, 2, 4, and 9 places respectively, with Qingdao remaining unchanged. The rankings of the other cities have all declined. Shanghai fell by 2 places to rank eighth globally, Beijing fell by 3 places to rank 18th globally, and Guangzhou fell by 5 places to rank 34th globally.
Looking at the regional rankings within mainland China compared to the 35th CFCI, Qingdao has surpassed Guangzhou to enter the top 4 in mainland China, Hangzhou has surpassed Tianjin and Nanjing to rise to the 8th place in the mainland, and Wuhan has surpassed Xi'an. However, the list of 12 mainland Chinese cities included has not changed in number.
The CDRI analysis states that, from the results of this index, the rankings of top Chinese financial centers such as Hong Kong, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Beijing face intense competition from US financial centers, especially San Francisco, Chicago, and Los Angeles, which have consecutively surpassed Shanghai and Shenzhen and have further narrowed the score gap with Hong Kong. Financial centers like San Diego and Boston, with rankings close to the top 20, also pose a certain challenge to Beijing's ranking.
Despite the overall decline in the rankings of Chinese financial centers, in terms of sub-rankings, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Shenzhen still rank in the top 15 globally in terms of business environment, human capital, infrastructure, financial industry development level, reputation, and comprehensive aspects. Beijing ranks in the top 15 globally in all aspects except for human capital.It is worth noting that the GFCI report specifically assesses the financial technology development level of 116 financial centers based on performance in the fintech sector.
Overall, China and the United States have a strong advantage in financial technology.
Among the top twenty financial center cities, both China and the United States each occupy six seats. In the United States, New York and San Francisco are ranked first and fourth globally, respectively, with Washington, Los Angeles, and Chicago entering the top ten in global financial technology rankings.
On the Chinese side, Shenzhen's ranking has risen by one position this time, reaching third place globally for the first time, just behind New York and London. Recently, the Shenzhen Financial Bureau also announced a work goal to form more than five parks and characteristic buildings focusing on digital finance development throughout the city by 2025. Additionally, Hong Kong's ranking has improved by five positions compared to the previous period, ranking ninth globally; Guangzhou and Chengdu each rose by six and two positions, respectively, ranking 14th and 17th globally.
The Comprehensive Development Research Institute analysis indicates that as financial centers such as Singapore, Seoul, Boston, Zurich, Geneva, and Toronto further stabilize their rankings in the financial technology field, the regional diversity characteristic of the financial technology ranking list begins to emerge. However, overall, China and the United States still have a strong advantage.