Seoul rises one spot to 10th in Global Financial Centres Index

NY tops list, followed by London, Singapore and HK

Office buildings in Yeouido, western Seoul (Getty Images Bank)

Seoul ranked 10th out of 133 cities in the 35th edition of the Global Financial Centers Index report, released Thursday afternoon, overtaking Paris, Beijing and Tokyo.

The index has been published biannually since 2007 in March and September by the Z/Yen Group, a London-based think tank, in collaboration with the China Development Institute, to evaluate the international financial competitiveness of cities globally. The GFCI report is compiled based on five evaluation criteria -- human capital, business environment, financial sector development, infrastructure, and reputation -- along with an online survey conducted on industry figures from around the world.

New York maintained its top spot, followed by London, Singapore and Hong Kong. Paris and Tokyo both slipped one slot to 14th and 19th, respectively, while Beijing dropped two places to 15th.

This year’s GFCI report showed that Seoul rose one place to 10th position when compared to the previous report released in September last year. According to the Seoul Metropolitan Government, this is a result of the city government’s steady implementation of policies to revitalize Yeouido, Seoul’s financial district.

In March 2023, the city approved a comprehensive plan to transform Yeouido as a Financial Special Development Promotion Zone to create a dedicated area to attract foreign investments by investing 59.35 billion won ($44.7 million) until 2028. In August, the city government also stated that it would turn Yeouido into an English-friendly area to transform it into a global financial hub.

Seoul also placed in the top 15 in all five areas of competitiveness, ranking 13th in business environment and financial sector development, seventh in human capital, 10th in infrastructure and 12th in reputation.

Along with the GFCI rankings, Seoul also ranked 10th in terms of FinTech offerings, up one place from September’s report.

“The rise in GFCI rankings reflects Seoul’s attractiveness and competitiveness as a global financial city,” said Lee Hae-woo, head of the city’s Economic Policy Office. “The city government will continue to strengthen its position as a global financial hub to attract more international companies, capital and talent into Seoul.”

By Lee Jung-joo(lee.jungjoo@heraldcorp.com)