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Banking & finance
Hong KongHong Kong economy

Hong Kong drops to sixth in new global financial centre rankings, leapfrogged by Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore

  • ‘Given the social unrest, brain drain would be expected,’ one of more than 5,000 anonymous respondents said of the city
  • Government spokesman said officials are working on promotional efforts designed to shift perceptions overseas

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Hong Kong’s reputation as a global financial hub took a hit on Friday as a new index saw it jumped by Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore in the rankings. Photo: Roy Issa
Cannix Yau

Hong Kong fell three slots to sixth place in Z/Yen Group’s newly released rankings of global financial centres on Friday, overtaken by Tokyo, Shanghai and Singapore.

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New York took the top spot in the index, followed by London, according to the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) report, which is published by Z/Yen Group in partnership with the Shenzhen-based China Development Institute.

The drop in Hong Kong’s global competitiveness came as the city has been in the grip of social unrest since June, when anti-government protests triggered by the now-withdrawn extradition bill erupted.
Social unrest surrounding months of anti-government protests was cited by some respondents to the survey. Photo: Sam Tsang
Social unrest surrounding months of anti-government protests was cited by some respondents to the survey. Photo: Sam Tsang

The twice-yearly index, released every March and September, rates 108 financial centres based on assessments from 5,064 professionals via an online questionnaire and backed by quantitative data.

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Hong Kong was ranked sixth in the index, dropping three places from September, with Tokyo moving up three places to rank third, and Shanghai and Singapore taking fourth and fifth, respectively.

One anonymous respondent from Hong Kong, described as head of legal for an investment management firm, commented: “Given the social unrest, brain drain would be expected and supply and demand for skilled labour would be diminished.”

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