The 39th Global Financial Centers Index announced: Asia-Pacific takes six of the top ten spots, with 12 cities from Mainland China on the list. Chengdu's financial technology jumps to the 12th position globally.

Each Daily Reporter | Zhang Yi
Each Daily Editor | Zhang Yiming

March 26, the British think tank Z/Yen Group and the China Academy of Comprehensive Development (China · Shenzhen) jointly released the “39th Global Financial Centres Index Report (GFCI 39)” simultaneously in London, UK and Shenzhen, China. A total of 120 financial centers were included in this edition’s shortlist.

The report shows that the top ten global financial centers in this edition, in order, are New York, London, Hong Kong, Singapore, San Francisco, Shanghai, Dubai, Seoul, Shenzhen, and Tokyo. Among them, the Asia-Pacific region holds six of the top ten, and Tokyo returns to the top ten after four years. Mainland China has 12 cities on the list, and overall performance remains stable. Shanghai, Guangzhou, Qingdao, and Chengdu have improved in their rankings, while Hangzhou, Dalian, Nanjing, and Tianjin have fallen to varying degrees.

Of note, among the financial centers ranked in the top 20 of the financial technology special ranking, Mainland China accounts for five seats. Chengdu, in particular, is especially striking: its ranking has climbed by 4 places to move up to 12th globally. Not only has it become the fastest Mainland city to advance within the top 20 of the financial technology special ranking, its overall ranking has also reached a new high.

Asia-Pacific continues to lead; Tokyo returns to the top ten

The Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 39) this edition evaluates and ranks major global financial centers from aspects including the business environment, human capital, infrastructure, the development level of the financial sector, reputation, and more. A total of 120 financial centers are on the list.

Compared with the previous edition’s index, in this edition, 56 financial centers’ rankings increased, 12 remained unchanged, and 52 decreased. However, expectations for global financial center development have weakened somewhat, with the overall average score falling by 1.82% compared with the previous edition.

Image source: “39th Global Financial Centres Index Report (GFCI 39)”

In addition, this edition’s financial center development also shows features and trends such as intensified competition among top-tier financial centers and Asia-Pacific leading financial centers continuing to outpace North America.

Among the top five, the financial centers’ rankings remain the same as the previous edition. The rankings of the financial centers ranked from sixth to tenth have changed to some extent from the previous edition. In this edition’s ranking, Shanghai and Dubai each moved up by 2 places and 4 places, respectively, ranking sixth and seventh; Tokyo rose by 5 places to rank tenth, entering the list of the world’s top ten financial centers again after four years.

According to the index report for this edition, top-tier financial centers can currently be divided into two tiers: the first tier consists of New York, London, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The scoring gap among these major financial centers is only 1 point. The second tier includes San Francisco, Shanghai, Dubai, Seoul, Shenzhen, and Tokyo. The overall scoring gap between this tier and the first tier is 20 points, while the gap among these financial centers themselves has also narrowed to 1 point.

From a regional layout perspective, the Asia-Pacific region has six financial centers that have entered the top ten of the list, continuing to outpace North America and Western Europe. Among them, Shanghai, Seoul, and Tokyo moved up by 2 places, 2 places, and 5 places respectively. In North America, Chicago and Los Angeles fell out of the top ten. The report notes that the data collection period for this edition’s index was earlier than the outbreak of recent Middle East conflicts, and subsequent changes in the geopolitical situation may have potential impacts on the stability of top financial centers.

Mainland cities remain stable overall; Chengdu’s fintech ranking hits a new high

A total of 12 Mainland cities in China entered the index list this edition, maintaining overall stability.

Looking at the leading cities, Shanghai rose by 2 places to 6th globally, Shenzhen remained 9th globally, and Beijing remained 22nd globally.

Meanwhile, several Mainland cities achieved ranking gains: Guangzhou rose by 3 places to 30th globally, Qingdao rose by 2 places to 33rd globally, Chengdu rose by 1 place to 37th globally, Wuhan rose by 5 places to 71st globally, and Xi’an rose by 3 places to 79th globally.

Image source: “39th Global Financial Centres Index Report (GFCI 39)”

In the sub-ranking categories, in Shanghai and Shenzhen, all five indicators—business environment, human capital, infrastructure, the level of development of the financial sector, and reputation—ranked within the top 15 globally. Among them, Shanghai’s level of development of the financial sector ranks 5th globally, while Shenzhen is ranked 5th globally in the infrastructure domain.

In addition, GFCI conducted a special assessment of the financial technology development level of 116 financial centers. The results show that “the landscape of fintech leaders remains stable, and the regional diversification characteristics are highlighted.”

Looking at the leading landscape, Hong Kong’s fintech ranking continues to stay in first place, followed closely by Shenzhen, New York, Singapore, and London. Among the financial centers in the top 20 fintech rankings, five cities from Mainland China are on the list. Except for Shenzhen remaining 2nd globally, Shanghai rose by 1 place to 6th globally, Guangzhou rose by 2 places to 8th globally, Chengdu rose by 4 places to 12th globally, and Beijing remained 14th globally.

Image source: “39th Global Financial Centres Index Report (GFCI 39)”

Of note, Chengdu not only saw improvements in both “comprehensive competitiveness” and “fintech,” but also became the fastest Mainland city to advance among the top 20 in the fintech special ranking, with its fintech ranking reaching yet another new high.

In recent years, Chengdu’s fintech development has shown characteristics of “policy guidance, platform support, and scenario-driven growth,” ranking among the top nationally in fintech R&D level, the number of companies clustered, and applications of digital financial scenarios. In 2025, Chengdu’s citywide gross domestic product reached CNY 2.48 trillion, a year-on-year increase of 5.8%; among this, growth in the financial sector was 6.5%.

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