Hong Kong boasts the strongest institutional environment of any major financial hub but lags in growth and future readiness, according to a new index launched by New York University Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
The inaugural Financial Centres Competitiveness Index (FFCI), unveiled at Abu Dhabi Finance Week, ranked Hong Kong fourth overall, behind New York, London and Singapore.
The index is built around two main criteria. On “footprint” – a measure that reflects the current scale and activity of financial centres – Hong Kong ranked third globally.
But on “dynamics”, which tracks how these centres are evolving, the city slipped to 12th, according to Bruno Lanvin, president of NYU Abu Dhabi’s newly launched Descartes Institute for the Future, who led the FFCI research.
Within the footprint category, Hong Kong leads the world on institutional environment, which covers political and fiscal governance as well as business support. Its resources – including capital and talent – were also rated among the best globally, placing second only to New York.
“Hong Kong stands out for its strong financial foundations anchored in superior institutional performance … although the city could draw more on the potential of its university network to strengthen innovation, particularly in emerging technologies,” the report said.