Mumbai at the bottom of top financial centres index 2013

Mumbai, March 26: Despite being hailed as one of fastest emerging economies in the world with over 5 percent growth and stable financial markets, India's financial capital Mumbai slipped to 66th rank in the list of world's leading financial centres.

According to the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) 2013 released on Tuesday, New Delhi failed to make a mark. The GFCI is published on a biannual basis by think-tank Z/Yen.

The GFCI provides profiles, ratings and rankings for 79 financial centres worldwide. At 66th place Mumbai is down three places from last year. It was ranked 63rd on the list.

Mumbai is the only Indian city on the list, which was topped by London. According to the poll results based on the responses of 2,300 finance professionals, the UK capital scored high on its "rule of law", which respondents cited as one of the city's primary attractions for the sector.

Interestingly, nearly 40 per cent of the centres included in the GFCI ranking are located in emerging markets as they gain prominence in the global economy and the financial world.

Many factors combine to make a financial centre competitive. These factors are grouped into five areas of competitiveness': People, Business, Environment, Infrastructure, Market Access and General Competitiveness.
The respondents also name their most important considerations when looking to invest in emerging markets. They include: regulation,macroeconomic stability, levels of corruption, openness and competitiveness as well as political stability.

All but six centres in the GFCI experienced a rise in the ratings in 2013.

According to the index, the 10 centres that are likely to become more significant in the next few years are: Singapore, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Seoul, Toronto, Sao Paulo, Luxembourg, Istanbul, Beijing and Moscow.

New York was ranked second in the list followed by Hong Kong and Singapore in the third and fourth place respectively.

Others in the top 10 are: Zurich (5th), Tokyo (6th), Geneva (7th), Boston (8th), Seoul (9th) and Frankfurt (10th).
Although New Delhi, the country's political hub, was added to the GFCI questionnaire recently and its progress was being monitored it failed to make it to the list.

Almaty, Baku, Busan, Guangzhou, Liechtenstein, New Delhi, Riga, Santiago, Tel Aviv and Tianjin have been added to the GFCI questionnaire recently and "we track their progress with interest" GFCI said, adding that "they have yet to acquire sufficient assessments to be included in the Index".

As many as 26 financial centres improved rankings from last year, 44 centres declined, 7 showed no change and 2 (Panama and Cyprus) entered the list for the first time.

OneIndia News