London has maintained its place as the most globally competitive financial centre in the 6th Global Financial Centres Index, published on September 22, 2009.
New York was placed second in the index, with both Hong Kong and Singapore placing third and fourth respectively.London and New York still lead the field although the gap between the second and third placed centre has been cut from 81 points to 45 points since last year. London increased the margin on second place New York to 16 points (from 13 points last year). The financial crisis has had a significant impact on both centres but they remain ahead of Hong Kong and Singapore.
London remains in the top quartile of nearly all instrumental factors and leads all industry sector sub-indices except the Banking sub-index, where it is 2nd to New York. New York has gained 6 points since GFCI 5 and is 2nd in all sub-indices except the Banking industry sub-index where it is in 1st position.
“We have long argued that the relationship between London and New York is mutually supportive and a gain for one does not mean a loss for the other. Before the crisis, a level of competition between the two centres was very evident. Whilst many industry professionals still see a great deal of competition, policymakers appear to recognise that working together on certain elements of regulatory reform is likely to enhance the competitiveness of both centres,” notes the report.
Hong Kong continues to thrive and has risen by 45 points since GFCI 5. It has also regained 3rd place in from Singapore (which was ahead in GFCI 4 and 5). It is in 3rd place in all areas of competitiveness, banking, asset management and insurance industry sector sub-indices.
Singapore has been climbing steadily in the GFCI ratings and has risen by 32 points in GFCI 6. It is 4th place in all areas of competitiveness and 3rd in the professional services and Government & Regulatory industry sector sub-indices.
Amongst offshore financial centres, Zurich placed 6th most competitive, with Geneva 9th. Jersey ranked 14th most competitive, with Guernsey and Luxembourg at 15th and 16th respectively, behind major city financial centres such as Frankfurt, Sydney and Toronto.
The report indicates that there is now a strong correlation between GFCI rankings and the OECD status of the various jurisdictions, with those centres that have not achieved ‘white list’ status, such as the Bahamas (48th) and Gibraltar (51st), placed very much lower in the rankings. The report also indicates that Jersey and Guernsey have increased their lead over both the Isle of Man (25th ) which fell 7 places, and the Cayman Islands (26th) which fell four, in the overall assessment.
Chief Executive of Jersey Finance, Geoff Cook commented;
"Coming so soon after our excellent review from the IMF, these latest rankings from the City of London study are another endorsement of how positively we are considered by the international finance community. It is particularly encouraging that towards the end of a very difficult year for the finance industry globally, Jersey has retained its position in the world’s top 20 and maintains its place as a highly-acclaimed offshore location."
Peter Niven, Chief Executive of Guernsey Finance, added:
“This latest report shows that Guernsey remains in the very top bracket of ‘offshore’ finance centres. What we have seen over the past year is that the financial crisis has resulted in greater scrutiny of such centres and subsequently a growing gap between those at the top end and the rest of the pack. I am delighted to say that Guernsey is not only very much in this top tier of these centres but in addition we remain ahead of many 'onshore' centres."
A comprehensive report in our Intelligence Report series giving a country-by-country analysis of offshore investment funds, stock exchanges and trusts, with an analysis of the US QI regime, is available in the Lowtax Library at http://www.lowtaxlibrary.com/asp/subs_reports.asp and a description of the report can be seen at http://www.lowtaxlibrary.com/asp/description_report9.asp
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