Source : Straits Times - 26 Sep 2008
SINGAPORE has been ranked the No. 3 financial centre in the world behind New York and London in a new survey, commissioned by the City of London.
It has risen one place from last year, thanks to its strong regulatory environment, and has overtaken rival Hong Kong, according to the Global Financial Centres Index released yesterday.
The half-yearly survey of 59 cities was conducted in July.
It found that the fallout from the credit crunch had narrowed the lead of London and New York over Asian and Middle Eastern financial centres.
Singapore enjoyed a rise of 26 points - more than any other centre in the top 20 ranking.
It was rated by the survey of 1,406 financial services professionals as being ‘competitive’ in the 57 factors used to rate each centre.
These factors included regulatory oversight and the tax environment.
Mr Stuart Fraser, head of policy for the City of London, told the Financial Times that Singapore was benefiting from a perception that it was already well regulated and hence less likely to face a regulatory crackdown.
‘London and New York are the two global cities and they are going to remain the global cities for a while yet, but (other centres) will close the gap a bit,’ he was quoted as saying.
‘Singapore and Dubai are recruiting people. That makes them look positive.’
Singapore scored 701 points in the ranking, 73 points behind New York and one ahead of Hong Kong.
The survey noted that Dubai was identified most frequently by respondents as ‘likely to become significantly more important in the next few years’.
Singapore was mentioned 10 times, compared to 22 times for Dubai. Shanghai was mentioned eight times.
The big losers in the rankings included Frankfurt, which slipped three places to ninth, and Paris, down six places to 20th.
Mr Anderson Jansen, who works in a major foreign financial institution in Singapore, said the city was definitely a ‘world-class financial hub’.
‘Singapore’s talent pool, infrastructure and open business environment definitely make it very attractive,’ he said.
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