Singapore becomes Asia’s top financial center: Report

Singapore became Asia’s top financial center, overtaking Hong Kong in the world financial centers ranking, according to a report by the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 32).

The index, prepared by the Z/Yen Partners and the China Development Institute think tanks, ranks 119 financial centers and employs data obtained from thousands of financial services professionals answering an online questionnaire.

"New York leads the index, with London second, ahead of Singapore in third place, which has overtaken Hong Kong in fourth position," according to the report.

"Paris returned to the top ten in the index, replacing Tokyo which fell to 16th place, perhaps reflecting a comparatively slow consumer recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic," it said.

In Asia, Singapore left Hong Kong behind by one rating point to take the lead in the region and third place in the overall index.

"Continuing travel restrictions in places like Hong Kong and Tokyo affect their ability to conduct normal levels of business," said the report.

Shanghai, Beijing and Shenzhen also maintained spots in the top 10.

Meanwhile, amid the Russia-Ukraine war, Russian financial centers fell, with Moscow down 22 places to 73, and St. Petersburg falling 17 spots to 114.

In the Middle East, Dubai and Abu Dhabi took first and second place, respectively, with Dubai stable in the rankings at 17th place and Abu Dhabi sitting in 32nd place.

Here are the top 10 ranked financial centers:

1. New York, US
2. London, UK
3. Singapore
4. Hong Kong
5. San Francisco, US
6. Shanghai, China
7. Los Angeles, US
8. Beijing, China
9. Shenzhen, China
10. Paris, France