Hong Kong and Shenzhen have risen to 1st and 2nd place globally in financial technology, while Hong Kong stays in 3rd place among the world’s financial hubs in overall competitiveness, according to the Global Financial Centres Index published on Thursday.

This marks the best performance of the two cities in the index’s fintech evaluation. It is also the first time that three cities from the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area have reached global top 10 in this field, with Guangzhou securing the 10th position.

The 38th edition of the index was jointly published by two leading think tanks — UK-based Z/Yen and Shenzhen-based the China Development Institute. It evaluates the competitiveness of 120 financial centers across the globe in different dimensions.

The index has been released since 2007, and is updated in March and September of each year.

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In terms of overall competitiveness, Hong Kong ranked 3rd across the globe, with Shenzhen in 9th place and Guangzhou in 33rd. Hong Kong continues to be the leading city in the Asia-Pacific region.

Globally, New York, London and Singapore retained their positions at 1st, 2nd, and 4th, respectively.

Among the five sub-indicators, Hong Kong topped in Business Environment, Infrastructure, and Reputation, and placed 2nd in Human Capital. It also excelled in various financial industries like banking, investment management, insurance and finance.

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The Chinese mainland has also performed remarkably well in this edition, with 12 cities entering the global top 120 financial hubs. Shanghai secured 8th place, followed by Qingdao in 33rd and Chengdu in 38th.

Contact the writer at bingcun@chinadailyhk.com