Veröffentlicht am 14.12.2011

Hong Kong top for financial development

Hong Kong SAR overtakes the United States and the United Kingdom to top the World Economic Forum’s fourth annual Financial Development Report. As the first Asian financial centre to achieve this rank, Hong Kong’s position was bolstered by strong scores in non-banking financial services such as IPO activity and insurance.

The Financial Development Report 2011 and the Financial Development Index (“the Index”) on which it is based provide a score and rank for 60 of the world’s leading financial systems and capital markets. The Index analyzes drivers of financial system development that support economic growth. Ultimately, it aims to serve as a tool for both advanced and emerging economies to benchmark themselves and thereby to identify and prioritize areas for reform.

One of the most notable changes is that Hong Kong takes 1st place from the United States (2nd), albeit with only a small difference in overall score. The rest of the countries in the top 10 have seen only minor changes—Japan increased by one rank, while the United Kingdom, Singapore, and Switzerland have each dropped one position.