"According to the Global Financial Centers Index (2013), the top four hubs are London and New York, which compete in a class of their own, and Hong Kong and Singapore. The index relies on indices from World Bank, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Economist Intelligence Unit.
In this index, emerging-economy financial hubs are far behind. Shanghai is featured as 24th, somewhere between Vienna and Kuala Lumpur, as well as Melbourne and Paris. But as they say, "Don't believe the hype".
Last January, Shanghai Mayor Yang Xion unveiled the mega-city's plan to develop the mainland's first free-trade zone. The FTZ will first span 29 square kilometers in the city's Pudong New Area, including the Waigaoqiao duty-free zone and Yangshan port. It may eventually expand to cover the entire area of Pudong. As land value has already soared in Pudong and the proximate areas, property developers look as if they had won the lottery.
In the past, Beijing has approved over a dozen bonded areas, which are prototypes of free-trade zones. But Shanghai's FTZ will be far more extensive and could bypass that of Hong Kong over time. The new Chinese leadership supports the plan.
In this index, emerging-economy financial hubs are far behind. Shanghai is featured as 24th, somewhere between Vienna and Kuala Lumpur, as well as Melbourne and Paris. But as they say, "Don't believe the hype".
Last January, Shanghai Mayor Yang Xion unveiled the mega-city's plan to develop the mainland's first free-trade zone. The FTZ will first span 29 square kilometers in the city's Pudong New Area, including the Waigaoqiao duty-free zone and Yangshan port. It may eventually expand to cover the entire area of Pudong. As land value has already soared in Pudong and the proximate areas, property developers look as if they had won the lottery.
In the past, Beijing has approved over a dozen bonded areas, which are prototypes of free-trade zones. But Shanghai's FTZ will be far more extensive and could bypass that of Hong Kong over time. The new Chinese leadership supports the plan.
Shanghai needs accelerated reforms in finance and trade, to boost the city's maturing growth. Despite the absolute expansion of its economy and population, the relative role of Shanghai - and other first-tier megacities - among all Chinese cities is eroding. With the huge expansion of Chinese medium-size cities of 1-5 million people, the momentum of the property markets has been shifting to second- and third-tier urban centers".
Source:Dan Steinbock
Asian Times
