(Bloomberg) -- Hong Kong, in the midst of an exodus of residents as it grapples with its largest ever outbreak of Covid-19, held its third place ranking among the world’s financial centers, trailing New York and London, according to a survey.
In the main areas of competitiveness, Hong Kong ranked in the top four for business environment, human capital, infrastructure and general reputation, but out of the top 10 in financial sector development.
Its overall hold on the third spot came as financial centers in Asia “generally recovered losses” experienced in the previous study, suggesting restored confidence in the region’s economic strength, according to the Global Financial Centres Index published by Z/Yen and the China Development Institute. Shanghai and Shenzhen moved up to fourth and 10th place, respectively.
Hong Kong’s strict pursuit of Covid zero, coupled with a brain drain over the past years amid a political crackdown on media and civil society groups, has prompted warnings over the city’s status as a financial hub. In part as a response to the mounting frustration of financial institutions and the public, Chief Executive Carrie Lam this week moved to ease some measures, calling an end to a travel ban from nine countries, including the U.S. and the U.K., and halving required hotel quarantine to seven days.
Hong Kong’s main regional rival, Singapore, dropped to sixth place in the survey. New York held on to the top position for over three years. Dubai was the highest ranked city in the Middle East at 17th.
The index rates 119 financial centers and used 74,982 financial center assessments collected from 11,934 financial services professionals responding to an online questionnaire. The survey addressed areas such as business environment, human capital, reputation and financial sector development. The survey is based on data up until the end of 2021.
©2022 Bloomberg L.P.
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