HK loses crown as top financial centre in APAC

It lost to Singapore by one point.

Hong Kong is no longer the top financial centre in the Asia Pacific.

The city dropped one rank in the Global Financial Centres Index, placing fourth globally and second in Asia-Pacific.

The city got an overall rating of 725, losing to Singapore by one point.

Markets in the index are rated based on five areas of competitiveness: business environment, human capital, infrastructure, financial sector development, and reputation.

Hong Kong saw improved rankings in four of the five areas, namely business environment (8th), infrastructure (6th), financial sector development (7th), and reputation (9th). For human capital, Hong Kong placed 8th.

The government said Hong Kong’s improvement in these areas “fully reflects the city’s strengths and advantages as a leading global financial centre.”

The report also revealed that financial industry practitioners based in Hong Kong were the most confident about the city’s future competitiveness as an international financial centre.
 
Given the intense international competition, the government has adopted a more vigorous and proactive development approach to consolidate Hong Kong’s strengths and continuously enhance the city’s competitiveness.

The government will continue to make good use of Hong Kong’s institutional advantages under “one country, two systems” to strengthen the city’s capital market and its role as an international financial centre, adding that it was confident the financial system could withstand external shocks and remain resilient.