World's Top Financial Centers Grow More Diverse

Established financial centers have lost some of their shine in the past decade according to the Global Financial Centres Index by UK research initiative Long Finance, which has been ranking cities for the competitiveness of their financial industries since 2007. Especially London, whose competitiveness was impacted by Brexit, has lost points, but so have New York and Hong Kong.

Shanghai and Shenzhen are among the world's top 10 financial centers. Chinese locations have been on a bit of a roller coaster ride in the past 10 years, which is about as long as they have established themselves among the top financial centers in the world. In Long Finance's first ranking in 2007, both cities only ranked 24th and 36th, respectively. More Chinese cities have recently been added to the ranking and some also surprised on the upside. Costal city Qingdao, for example scored 708 points in 2024, up from 594 in 2016. In the aftermath of the Great Depression, U.S. financial centers other than New York also slid down the ranking, but have since recovered.

More Asian cities are now trying to take the leap to the top of the list of global financial centers. South Korean capital Seoul, currently ranked 11th, has been investing more than $200 million over the course of five years to bolster the city's standing as a financial hub. The goal of the plan is to attract more than 250 foreign financial firms and $30 billion in foreign direct investment by 2030, according to the Korea Herald.

The Long Finance ranking takes into account business environment, financial sector development, infrastructure, human capital and reputational factors, among others.