London retains top spot in own global financial centre survey for sixth year

[LONDON] London remains the world’s top financial centre ahead of New York, the City of London Corporation’s annual survey based on public data showed on Thursday (Jan 22), while Singapore again came in third.

London retained the top spot for the sixth year in the survey of 102 metrics, which benchmarked global financial centres in five categories such as regulatory environment, talent and skills, and business infrastructure.

Its lead was based on consistency across those categories rather than being the best in any of them.

The British financial hub’s internet speeds, however, were the slowest among the seven global financial centres included in the survey, the report showed, which could undermine its efforts to develop in artificial intelligence and technology.

London’s status as a global finance hub has come under increasing scrutiny over the past two years, following a slowdown in public listings as a result of companies concerned about valuation levels choosing mainland Europe and the US instead.

The city’s number one ranking is also disputed, with New York ranking first and London second in London-based think tank Z/Yen’s most recent Global Financial Centres Index based on 140 metrics. REUTERS