Hong Kong beats Singapore to be Asia's top financial center

Hong Kong reclaimed its spot as Asia’s top financial center, knocking Singapore back to second place in the region, according to a survey.

Globally, Hong Kong ranked third, behind New York and London in the latest Global Financial Centres Index released Monday. Singapore placed fourth worldwide. Dublin, Chicago and Dubai moved up in the rankings, while Shanghai, Beijing and Geneva moved down in the index.

It’s welcome good news for Hong Kong’s finance sector, which was battered by pandemic restrictions that prompted many workers to leave the city. The property market, which has failed to recover, has slowed activity and consumer demand. The government is betting that its initiatives and lower interest rates may revive economic activity.


Other findings in the report:

• 58 places fell in the rankings, while 46 improved
• Shenzhen overtook San Francisco to rank third in the fintech ranking
• Chicago and Los Angeles climbed past Shanghai to place sixth and seventh
• Sydney, Nanjing, and Tianjin fell at least 10 places
• Geopolitical challenges were the most pressing risk, mentioned by more than one-fifth of respondents

The index, compiled by researchers Z/Yen Partners and the China Development Institute, assesses 121 financial centers and uses data and survey results from thousands of financial services professionals responding to an online questionnaire.

Here are the top 20 ranked financial centers:

1. New York

2. London

3. Hong Kong

4. Singapore

5. San Francisco

6. Chicago

7. Los Angeles

8. Shanghai

9. Shenzhen

10. Frankfurt

11. Seoul

12. Washington DC

13. Geneva

14. Dublin

15. Paris

16. Dubai

17. Zurich

18. Beijing

19. Luxembourg

20. Tokyo