Hong Kong ranked top financial centre for second year by World Economic Forum

LONDON: Hong Kong was named the world's top financial centre for the second year running by the World Economic Forum (WEF), thanks to the strength of its business environment, infrastructure and a favourable tax regime.

The WEF's annual Financial Development Report considered a wide range of factors and underscored the rise of Asian trading centres and the influence of China as the world's second-largest economy.

Rival surveys based purely on the total value of transactions typically put New York or London in top place.

However, stalling capital markets, sputtering economic growth and waning trust in financial organisations served to ensure that the top six positions remained unchanged from 2011, the WEF said. "Macroeconomic uncertainty as well as concerns related to regulation, contributes to inhibiting the financial industry from funding much-needed growth," said Giancarlo Bruno, senior director at the WEF, which hosts an annual meeting of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland.