Singapore has edged Hong Kong to emerge as Asia's top financial center and the third most important venue for financiers around the world, according to the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) rankings released earlier this week.
The city-state scored 755 points, leaping over Hong Kong, which ranked fourth globally with 753 points. Coming in fifth was Tokyo, with 728 points.
Topping the 19th edition of the GFCI was London, with 800 points. New York followed with 792 points. The study indicated the two cities were more complimentary than purely competitive venues to attract financiers.
The GFCI is a semi-annual study conducted by the Z/Yen Group, surveying over 2,500 financial services professionals.
The index rates each financial center on a scale of 1,000 points and considers five areas of competitiveness, such as the business environment, development of the financial sector, infrastructure, quality of labor force and regulations.
Rounding up the rest of top 10 were Zurich, Washington DC, San Francisco, Boston and Toronto.
Mark Yeandle, associate director at the Z/Yen Group and the author of the study said, "Five of the top ten centers are now North American, perhaps reflecting the surge in Fintech and blockchains."
Blockchain refers to the technology underlying the cryptocurrency bitcoin and financial institutions are working to incorporate it as well.