Asia rises in best fintech hub indexes, Australia to profit the most

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Three major reports released this year have provided strong evidence that the crown for financial center dominance is shifting toward Asia. And the Australian fintech industry is in the box seat to capitalize on this important mega-trend.

The first report is the Global Financial Centres Index released by UK-based commercial think tank Z/Yen in March 2017.

The index is based on an objective analysis of the strengths of more than 100 financial centers, along with survey feedback from more than 3,000 industry professionals.

Within the top 50, 11 Asia Pacific financial centers improved their overall rank and only four lost their rank compared to the results six months ago.

For instance, Sydney increased its ranking from 11 to eight, while Melbourne jumped from 24 to 21. It wasn’t that long ago that, in the March 2015 index, Sydney was languishing in 21st place, with Melbourne at 28.

On the flipside, seven European cities lost their rank, including old-school favorites Zurich and Luxembourg, along with Frankfurt, Dublin, and Amsterdam.

The United States had mixed results, with two cities (Chicago and Los Angeles) increasing their ranking and two falling (Boston and Washington DC).

While London and New York both kept their spots at the top of the table, they lost ranking points. Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo are now nipping at their heels.

The report concludes that Brexit and the US presidential election were the main causes for the weaker outcome for both London and New York.

The reality of ranking

These world economic ranking reports promote furious debate.

However, the fact of the matter is that reports such as the Global Financial Centres Index help generate positive media coverage for the successful cities, and this media coverage is influential when companies make major investment decisions.

That’s why this year’s Global Financial Centres Index is positive news for existing financial services and fintech companies based in Asia (including Australia), but not so great news for Europe and the US.

But when it comes to Australia and Asia, the good news does not end there.

Fintechs around the world

The global fintech crown could move to Asia