Today's Edition
A. SREENIVASA REDDY (ABU DHABI)
Abu Dhabi and Dubai are among the world’s top 20 financial centres in the 40th edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI 40), with the two cities retaining their positions as the leading financial hubs in the Middle East and Africa.
Abu Dhabi climbed eight places to 13th globally from 21st in the previous edition, while Dubai ranked ninth, compared with seventh earlier. Dubai and Abu Dhabi continued to rank first and second, respectively, in the Middle East and Africa region.
The latest rankings come despite continuing geopolitical tensions in the region. The report said the data used for the index were “largely collated after the start of the recent conflict in the Middle East.”
Dubai remained among the global top 10, while Abu Dhabi entered the top 20, alongside Beijing and Osaka.
The results indicate that the two UAE financial centres maintained strong assessments during the period of regional tensions. The report said the average rating across the Middle East and Africa increased 0.82% in the latest edition.
Casablanca rose 11 places to become the region’s third-ranked centre and the highest-ranked in Africa, while Riyadh climbed 15 places to fourth in the region.
Abu Dhabi recorded one of the stronger improvements among the leading centres, with its GFCI rating increasing 18 points to 746 from 728. Dubai’s rating also improved, rising eight points to 750 from 742, despite its two-place decline in the global ranking.
Both cities also featured prominently when financial professionals were asked which centres they expected to grow in significance over the next two to three years. Dubai topped the global list with 156 mentions, followed by Singapore with 137 and Casablanca with 106.
Abu Dhabi ranked fourth with 60 mentions, ahead of Seoul, Riyadh, Hong Kong and Shanghai. Of the 15 centres most frequently identified for future growth, five were in the Middle East and Africa.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi also featured among the leading centres across several measures of competitiveness. The GFCI groups the factors determining competitiveness into five areas — business environment, human capital, infrastructure, financial sector development and reputation.
Dubai ranked 11th globally for business environment, 10th for human capital, ninth for infrastructure, 11th for financial sector development and sixth for reputation and general competitiveness. Abu Dhabi ranked 15th for business environment, 13th for infrastructure and 13th for financial sector development.
The two UAE cities also performed strongly when the index was calculated using assessments from professionals working in individual financial sectors.
Dubai ranked first globally in FinTech, second in professional services, fifth in government and regulatory services, 11th in investment management and insurance, and 15th in finance.
Abu Dhabi ranked fifth in professional services, ninth in FinTech, 12th in government and regulatory services, 14th in finance and 15th in investment management.
The report also classified both Dubai and Abu Dhabi as “Global Leaders”, a category for financial centres with broad and deep financial services activities and strong connections with other financial centres around the world. Eleven centres were placed in this category.
The GFCI is produced by Z/Yen Group, a London-based commercial think tank, in partnership with the China Development Institute (CDI), a Shenzhen-based think tank. Z/Yen and the City of London released the first GFCI in 2007, while Z/Yen and CDI established their partnership on financial-centre research in 2016. The index is updated every March and September.
GFCI 40 was compiled using 144 instrumental factors, with quantitative measures supplied by third parties including the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations. These were combined with 39,531 assessments of financial centres provided by 6,147 respondents to the GFCI online questionnaire.
The latest edition researched 139 financial centres, of which 117 qualified for the main index and 22 were classified as associate centres.
Globally, New York retained the top position, with London second, Hong Kong third and Singapore fourth. Shanghai moved up one place to fifth, followed by Tokyo, Seoul, Shenzhen and Dubai, while Zurich entered the top 10 in 10th place.
“Abu Dhabi's climb of eight places to thirteenth is the strongest improvement among the leading centres in this edition,” Sayed A., Chief Business Officer at Graystone Capital, said.
The report notes that its data were largely collected after the start of the recent regional conflict. Ratings across the Middle East and Africa still rose 0.82% on average, and both UAE centres improved.
“Professionals were asked to assess this region during a period of tension, and they marked it higher. That suggests the UAE's standing continues to be supported by factors such as regulation, rule of law, talent and infrastructure,” Sayed said.
“The headline that Dubai slipped two places to ninth misses what happened. Dubai's rating rose eight points to 750, and Abu Dhabi's rose eighteen points to 746,” Sayed said. Only four points now separate the two UAE centres, he added.
“Dubai also ranked first in the world in the FinTech sub-index, which is scored by professionals working in that sector. The people building financial technology globally now rate Dubai above every other centre,” Sayed said.
“The latest GFCI rankings highlight the UAE’s growing role as a global financial hub. Dubai’s ninth-place ranking and Abu Dhabi’s jump to 13th, alongside stronger GFCI ratings for both cities, suggest that investor confidence and the depth of financial infrastructure remain resilient despite regional geopolitical pressures,” Milad Azar, Market Analyst at XTB MENA, said.
The outlook is also supported by strong expectations for future growth.
“Dubai leading the global list and Abu Dhabi ranking fourth indicate that financial professionals continue to see the UAE benefiting from capital inflows, fintech development and expanding financial services activity,” Azar added.
