S’pore overtakes Hong Kong as Asia’s top financial centre

SINGAPORE — The Republic has leapfrogged rival Hong Kong to become Asia’s top financial centre and the third in the world after London and New York, London-based research firm Z/Yen Group’s Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) report showed on Friday (April 8).

Singapore had ranked fourth globally after Hong Kong in its previous report last September, with the first two positions unchanged. The ranking takes into account performance of the financial centres in the areas of business environment, financial sector development, infrastructure, ­human capital and reputational factors.

The prospects for Singapore look rosy in the coming years, the report showed. One interesting finding of the latest survey is that Singapore is ranked No 1, with the most number of mentions, when respondents were asked which financial centre will ­become more significant in the next few years, noted Ms Judy Hsu, CEO of Standard Chartered Singapore.

“This implies that the professionals in the financial industry foresee Singa­pore playing a bigger role in shaping the international financial landscape in future,” she said. “Credit has to be given to the Monetary Authority of Singapore for ensuring that Singa­pore’s financial ­industry remains ­vibrant, dynamic and competitive by working closely with financial institutions such as ourselves to develop and promote Singapore as a regional and international financial centre.”

London retained its global leadership position ahead of New York, but the report noted that the two centres are more “complementary than purely competitive”. However, it ­noted ­that Brexit concerns are hurting London’s ­standing. “A number of respondents to our questionnaire have commented that the uncertainty surrounding the possible exit of Britain from the European Union is having a negative impact on London’s competitiveness at present,” said the report.

Seven of the top 10 Asia-­Pacific centres dropped in their ratings, with Seoul and Sydney reporting ­the largest declines. Western European centres, ­according to the report, ­remained mired in ­uncertainty. The North American region displayed mixed fortunes, with financial centres in the United States, such as New York and Washington DC, rising in the ratings while the three leading Canadian centres fell.

Mr Mark Yeandle, associate director at the Z/Yen Group and the author of the GFCI said: “While London and New York still lead the field, the next three centres are all Asian. Five of the top 10 centres are now North American, perhaps reflecting the surge in fintech and blockchains.”

The GFCI, calculated every three months and published every six months, examines the global competitiveness of the major financial centres. The report provides profiles, rating and rankings for 86 financial centres, drawing on two separate sources of data: Instrumental factors, and responses to an online survey on 24,495 financial centre assessments completed by 2,520 financial services professionals.