6 October 2008
City of London Corporation releases report on Asian Financial
Centres
High-growth Asian economies are of great and growing importance
to the global economy at large and to the international financial
services industry in particular, according to a report released
today (6 October) which was commissioned by the City of London
Corporation from Research Republic.
The report says it is likely that a number of Asian financial
centres will become increasingly important globally, each with
unique specialisations. It focuses on three centres: Hong Kong SAR,
Tokyo and Singapore. Given the current market uncertainty the
centre of gravity in the international economy is increasingly
shifting towards Asia and financial centres here are set to grow,
the report says.
The study says that Asian financial centres will play a greater
part in the global financial industry and this will bring a range
of challenges and opportunities for the world’s leading financial
centres of London and New York. It also highlights the fact that
the ability of UK-based financial institutions to maximise their
business relationships within Asia is of vital importance.
The Lord Mayor of the City of London David Lewis who has spent
time working in Asian markets - is currently leading a delegation
on an extended business visit to Tokyo, Singapore Taiwan and Brunei
to build partnerships in the region.
Stuart Fraser, the Chairman of Policy and Resources at the City
of London Corporation said: "The City has long and close links with
Asian markets and to neglect or ignore these great historic links
at this time would be a huge mistake. City businesses must maximise
their relationships within Asia and engage closely with the
region."
According to the report, Hong Kong SAR has proven a surprisingly
resilient international financial centre for a burgeoning China and
remains the pre-eminent portfolio investment centre in Asia as well
as the region’s dominant centre for institutional investment.
However, the question of whether Hong Kong SAR’s position is a
sustainable one, will depend entirely on its long-term relationship
with the Mainland, according to those surveyed.
The report says that Tokyo retains strong fundamentals, but 15
years of slow growth have stalled domestically-driven development,
and Tokyo appears to have lost some of its competitive advantages.
It is also perceived to lack the "soft" infrastructure required of
a genuinely international centre.
The report says that Singapore has been particularly successful
in attracting a growing portfolio of wealth under management from
around the world, but that it is confronting a number of structural
constraints to its development as a leading financial centre in the
region. The long-term threat to Singapore’s status as an
international financial centre remains its lack of indigenous
hinterland to underpin the growth of its financial services
sector.
Please see
www.cityoflondon.gov.uk/researchpublications for
a full copy of the report.
For further details please contact:
Susanna Howard
Press Office
City of London Corporation
Susanna.howard@cityoflondon.gov.uk
020 7332 3450 / 07956 660 802
Notes to editors:
The City of London Corporation is an unusually diverse organisation
with three main aims – to support and promote the Square Mile as
the world’s leading international financial and business centre; to
provide the highest quality local government services for the
Square Mile; and to provide valued services to London and the
nation as a whole.
Research Republic is a public policy research consultancy
providing comprehensive research support to clients in the public,
private and voluntary sectors.