Singapore kept their fourth place in the recent Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) 38, with a rating of 763 and an additional 13 points from the previous index. The ranking was released on Thursday, September 26.
Read Also: Singapore and Its Unstoppable Economic Growth in Southeast Asia
Singapore On A Global Pedestal
Singapore was just one point shy behind the current third place Hong Kong. In September 2022, the former once overtook the latter’s title as the highest ranked center in Asia. However, Hong Kong reclaimed the post in 2024.
Singapore was considered as among the best by area of competitiveness. It was ranked second in business environment, third in reputational, and fourth in three areas: human capital, infrastructure, and financial sector development.
The country then led the world in the Professional Services industry sector, performing well ahead of major commercial cities such as Zurich, Los Angeles, and Toronto.
Respondents of the GFCI questionnaire further mentioned the country as one of the centers with the brightest future prospects within the next two or three years.
Asia-Pacific’s Economy Continued To Shine
After Hong Kong and Singapore, four other Asia-Pacific hubs made it into the GFCI 38’s top 15: Shanghai (8th), Shenzhen (9th), Seoul (10th), and Tokyo (15th). This was slightly more than North America, Western Europe, and any other region globally.
The GFCI report detailed that the Asia-Pacific region had an increased average rating of 1.27%, and only one financial center experiencing a falling rating.
Other Southeast Asian cities that were featured in the main list included Kuala Lumpur (45th), Jakarta (91st), Ho Chi Minh City (95th), Bangkok (102nd), and Manila (104th). Malaysia’s Labuan made its first inclusion to the ranking at the 60th place.
Another Vietnamese city, Da Nang, was also listed among the 15 Associate Centres, which are financial cities that fell short from the required assessment number to be ranked in the primary GFCI index.
Top 20 Financial Cities In The World
In a bigger picture, GFCI 38 showed that New York continued to lead ahead of runner-up London and the aforementioned Hong Kong and Singapore.
The report pointed out that the top ten rankings were identical to the previous edition. However, the rating differences became more competitive. Each of the top four centers were separated only by a single point.
The following are the top 20 financial centers and the placements of Southeast Asian hubs according to GFCI 38.
| Centres | GFCI 38 Rank | GFCI 38 Rating | Change In Rank From GFCI 37 |
| New York | 1 | 766 | - |
| London | 2 | 765 | - |
| Hong Kong | 3 | 764 | - |
| Singapore | 4 | 763 | - |
| San Francisco | 5 | 754 | - |
| Chicago | 6 | 753 | - |
| Los Angeles | 7 | 752 | - |
| Shanghai | 8 | 751 | - |
| Shenzhen | 9 | 750 | - |
| Seoul | 10 | 749 | - |
| Dubai | 11 | 748 | +1 |
| Frankfurt | 12 | 747 | -1 |
| Washington D.C. | 13 | 746 | - |
| Geneva | 14 | 745 | +1 |
| Tokyo | 15 | 744 | +7 |
| Zurich | 16 | 743 | +5 |
| Boston | 17 | 742 | +2 |
| Paris | 18 | 741 | -1 |
| Luxembourg | 19 | 740 | -3 |
| Dublin | 20 | 739 | -6 |
| Kuala Lumpur | 45 | 714 | +6 |
| Labuan | 60 | 699 | New Entry |
| Jakarta | 91 | 668 | +6 |
| Ho Chi Minh | 95 | 664 | +3 |
| Bangkok | 102 | 657 | -6 |
| Manila | 104 | 655 | -1 |
What Is The Global Financial Centers Index?
The Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) is a collaborative initiative by London’s think tank Z/Yen Partners and Shenzhen’s China Development Institute. First compiled in 2007, it is now published every March and September.
For the 38th edition in September 2025, the GFCI evaluated 135 financial centers around the world. The index was determined by a combination of instrumental factors and online surveys.
Over 140 quantitative factors were considered. They were collected from third parties such as the United Nations, the World Bank, and the World Economic Forum (WEF).
The online questionnaire for the latest index had 4,877 respondents who provided 28,549 assessments.
Source:
Long Finance. The Global Financial Centres Index 38. https://www.longfinance.net/publications/long-finance-reports/the-global-financial-centres-index-38/
