Hong Kong and Shanghai: current and/or future international financial centres?

Purpose - – This paper publishes summary results for the first time of a major survey of senior financial practitioners undertaken in Hong Kong and Shanghai in 2005, and compares these with the Global Financial Centre Index first created in 2007 to determine the extent to which both are consistent. Design/methodology/approach - – The research is based on a detailed survey and utilizes principal-components analysis to determine the primary factors relevant to the development of both cities as international financial centres (IFCs) and those which the respondents consider will be relevant in the future. Findings - – The paper demonstrates that the key “success factors” for both cities in 2005 remain very important in the global financial centres index (GFCI) analysis ten years later but not necessarily by the same ranking. We also found that a number of the “primary” factors change when respondents are asked to consider future success factors. Research limitations/implications - – The survey was conducted ten years ago; however, the results continue to have significant reliability and validity - especially when compared with the results of the GFCI report of 2014. Practical implications - – The paper should enable policy makers and practitioners to better understand the future policy environment needed for extending the financial centre status of both Hong Kong and Shanghai. Originality/value - – This is the first time (some) of the survey findings that have ever been published, and they represent a rich source of information – however, the authors will be examining the survey data for future publications.