According to the Global Financial Centres index, New York has effortlessly retained its position as the world’s top financial center, with London remaining second and gaining pace, but also facing a stiffer fight with Singapore and Hong Kong.
New York has maintained its lead over London since September 2018, with 763 points according to surveys of 147 factors covering 121 centers provided by third parties such as the World Bank, OECD, and the United Nations.
London narrowed the deficit with New York to 744 points, which is likely to relieve concerns about post-Brexit competitiveness after high-profile companies such as UK chip designer Arm Holdings elected to list in New York. Singapore, on the other hand, is now merely 2 points behind London at 742, itself just a point ahead of Hong Kong in fourth position, indicating an intensifying war for second place.
The index is compiled every six months byLondon-based think tank Z/Yen and the China Development Institute.
“U.S. centres performed well, with five U.S. centres in the top 10, reflecting the strength of the U.S. economy,” the survey said, adding that New York retained its lead in separate fintech rankings, followed by London which overtook San Francisco.