Report: “Global Financial Centers Index” Hong Kong maintains the 3rd place in the world and ranks first in the Asia-Pacific region

The Zhitong Finance App learned that on September 16, the UK's Z/Yen Group and the China (Shenzhen) Comprehensive Development Research Institute jointly released the 40th “Global Financial Center Index” report. Hong Kong's overall ranking remains third in the world and continues to be the top in the Asia-Pacific region. A spokesperson for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government said, “The report once again fully affirms Hong Kong's leading position and strength as an international financial center. Hong Kong continues to rank first in the world in fintech. In the five evaluation areas of competitiveness indicators, Hong Kong ranked first. Among them, the “level of development of the financial industry” rose to first place in the world. Apart from “human capital” continuing to rank second, the two fields of “business environment” and “infrastructure” also rose to second place. Furthermore, Hong Kong continues to perform well in the evaluations of practitioners in various financial industry sectors. Among them, it rose to the top position in the world in 'investment management', and the 'insurance industry' and 'financing' continued to rank first in the world.”

A spokesperson for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government continued, “Under the complex and changing geopolitical situation, Hong Kong will continue to give full play to its role as a 'super contact' and 'super value-added person' under 'one country, two systems', and strive to create a stable and safe investment environment for global investors to meet their growing demand for diversified asset allocation.”

“The First Five-Year Plan for Economic and Social Development of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (2026-2030)” (“Hong Kong's First Five-Year Plan”) announced today lays out a forward-looking, strategic and directional blueprint for Hong Kong's economic and social development over the next five years. On the financial side, we will adhere to the policy of 'promote by stability, strengthen stability' and expand our existing financial advantages, including financing, risk management, asset management, etc., and also promote “finance +” to expand the advantages and radiant capacity of finance, thereby empowering the development of various industries, serving the real economy, benefiting society and citizens, and further consolidating Hong Kong's status as an international financial center. “The Chief Executive's 2026 Policy Address” has also formulated a number of financial policy measures to implement the blueprint set out in the “Hong Kong First Five-Year Plan” and promote Hong Kong's financial development in all aspects.”

“We will further enhance the competitiveness of the securities market through continuous optimization of the listing system and trading mechanism, including supporting more mainland and overseas companies to go public and finance in Hong Kong, improving market efficiency, and promoting the implementation of the paperless securities market. We are also further optimizing the connectivity mechanisms between Hong Kong and the Mainland to provide investors with broader and more diverse investment channels, while deepening the connection and joint development of the capital markets of the two places.”

“As a global offshore RMB business hub, Hong Kong will continue to use its unique advantages, actively cooperate with the country's development strategy, and promote more measures to make better use of offshore RMB, including discussing with the People's Bank of China how to optimize currency swap arrangements, make good use of the RMB business funding arrangements that were expanded and optimized in July this year, expand direct exchange arrangements between offshore RMB and other currencies, and enrich RMB products to enhance offshore RMB radiation capacity and better serve the real economy.”

“This year, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank will establish an office in Hong Kong with both financing and operational functions, reflecting its recognition of Hong Kong's strengths as an international financial center. Hong Kong's booming capital market, diversified financial products and high-quality professional services will efficiently support the bank's operations in financing, debt issuance and financial management.”

“Hong Kong is committed to building a commodity trading ecosystem using gold trading as an entry point. We have comprehensive plans to establish a gold ecosystem in the Asian time zone and target major international gold trading centers in the long term. The Hong Kong Central Gold Clearing and Settlement System has begun trial operation. We will continue to fully implement a series of measures to promote physical transactions, develop investment products, derivatives and risk management tools, provide tax incentives, and deepen connectivity with the mainland gold market to enhance Hong Kong's position as an international gold trading, clearing and reserve hub.”

“Hong Kong is a leading global cross-border wealth management center. In 2025, the total value of assets under management surged 20% year-on-year to a record high of $42.2 trillion, and net capital inflows soared by nearly two times to 2.1 trillion yuan year-on-year. The Government submitted a bill to the Legislative Council in June this year to further enhance the competitiveness of the preferential tax system for the asset and wealth management industry, attract more funds and family offices to settle in Hong Kong and manage more global funds in Hong Kong. We will continue to take a multi-pronged approach to strengthen Hong Kong's role as an international asset and wealth management center.”

“Hong Kong continues to rank first in the world in fintech, which shows that the government has been actively promoting the development strategy of fintech and digital assets to be effective. The stablecoin issuer system was implemented in August last year. The first batch of licenses was issued in April of this year, and Hong Kong's first regulated stablecoin was launched in August of this year. We are formulating legislative proposals on a licensing system for virtual asset trading, custody, advice and management services, establishing a comprehensive regulatory framework, and developing Hong Kong into a global digital asset innovation center. We aim to submit relevant bills to the Legislative Council within this year.”

“In terms of green and sustainable finance, Hong Kong was recognized by the IFRS Foundation last year as one of the first jurisdictions aiming to fully adopt sustainable disclosure standards for international financial reporting. The Green Accelerator, with the participation of mainland and international multilateral financial institutions, was officially launched in Hong Kong this month to support the incubation, acceleration and development of green technology projects in the Belt and Road region, and provide innovative examples of green finance services in Hong Kong.”