Hong Kong and Shanghai tie in financial centre rankings
Hong Kong and Shanghai tied for the fifth place in a ranking of international financial centres published yesterday by state-run Xinhua and Dow Jones.
Hong Kong and Shanghai tied for the fifth place in a ranking of international financial centres published yesterday by state-run Xinhua and Dow Jones.
Shanghai stepped up one place on the international financial centres development index while Hong Kong fell back two ranks, putting the cities on even ground for the first time in the five years the report has been issued.
Beijing also took a spot on the top 10 list for the first time, ranking No9, before Chicago and knocking Sydney off the short list. New York and London held on to the first and second places.
The report surveys 45 global financial centres for the robustness, development, industry support, service level and "national environment" of their financial markets.
While Hong Kong's service rating jumped up one place to third, its development rank fell from second to sixth place and its "national environment" rating fell out of the top 10, but the report provided no explanation for the tumble.
The index did not mention the student protests that have blocked traffic and business in Hong Kong's financial centre for more than a month.
However, it noted that the establishment of Shanghai's pilot free-trade zone had helped push the city's "national environment" ranking into the top 10 spots.
Shanghai has held first place for development since the index was created.
Without crucial developments such as the liberalisation of the yuan, it was hard to put the two cities on an equal financial footing, said Ben Kwong Man-bun, a director at KGI Asia.
"The two cities still have their own financial and legal systems, so they are not on an equal ground yet," he said. "But they are chasing each other."
Kwong said developments such as the Hong Kong-Shang- hai stock connect scheme allowing mainland and Hong Kong investors to conduct cross-border share trading, which was expected to be launched last month, would bring the two cities closer.
