The City of London Corporation announced the ranking of global financial centers in 2024. Hong Kong is now tied with Tokyo, for sixth place. London ranks first, followed by New York, Singapore, Frankfurt, and Paris.
According to the report, the survey evaluates the performance of cities across different metrics. Hong Kong lost the most points in the “Talent and Skills” category, falling from 44 points last year to 37 points (out of 100 points).
In addition, Hong Kong’s overall score dropped the most among all financial centers, from 37 points in 2023 to 31 points, and fell in the scores of all five categories, including “innovation,” “reach of financial activity,” “regulation,” “resilience and business infrastructure,” and “talent and skills.”
Hong Kong’s score in “Innovation” dropped by 5 points compared with 2023. Among the seven major financial centers, Hong Kong enterprises score the second lowest in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) score, only better than Tokyo.
The survey recognized Hong Kong’s low tax system, saying that Hong Kong and Singapore have the most competitive tax bases. In terms of top personal income tax, Hong Kong and Singapore have much lower tax rates than other financial centers, at 17 percent and 22 percent, respectively. The top tax rate in the UK is 45 percent. Moreover, Hong Kong, like New York and Singapore, has an average internet speed that is more than twice that of the UK. Hong Kong ranks first in terms of having a business-friendly ecosystem, where new businesses can easily set up operations.
The survey quoted data from Fortune magazine in 2023, indicating that the world’s largest companies are moving away from financial centers. The only exception is Japan where 41 Japanese companies have entered the Fortune Global 500, and 29 of which are headquartered in Tokyo. New York has the headquarters of 16 Fortune 500 companies, 11 of which are financial services companies.
According to the survey, based on a total score of 100, London ranked first among global financial centers in 2024 with 59 points. New York, which tied with London for first place in 2023, ranked second with 57 points. Singapore scored 48 points to remain in third place. The only change in the ranking was Tokyo, which rose from seventh in 2023 to joint sixth place with Hong Kong, both scoring 31 points.
When reporting on the rankings, Reuters added that according to the “Global Financial Center Index” report compiled by the think tank “Z/Yen” in 2023, New York ranked first, London second, Singapore third, and Hong Kong fourth.
