(Yicai Global) March 25 -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has maintained its position as the world's third-most competitive financial center while Shanghai is closing the gap, ranking fourth, according to the latest index compiled by Chinese and British think tanks.

New York is No. 1 while London comes in second, according to the semi-annual Global Financial Centers Index that China’s national think tank China Development Institute and British think tank Z/Yen Group released yesterday.

Shanghai has jumped two spots upward since the previous list. The climb can be explained by the sub-categories. The eastern city's sub-score of competitiveness rose by one point to 714 while its financial technology came in No. 2 in the world.

The report ranked 119 global financial hubs based on factors such as the business environment, human capital, and infrastructure. Some 12 cities in China's mainland were included.

Beijing held onto its position as No. 8 even though its total score fell by one point. In the sub-category of fintech, the city rose by two spots to replace London as No. 3.

Shenzhen moved up six spots to be ranked No. 10, showing the quickest growth in the top 10 this year. Its score increased by 8 points to 707.

Financial centers in the Asia-Pacific have rebounded since the previous report. This indicates that the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has weakened since the second half of 2021 while economic confidence is improving.

The cities in the top 10 are mostly in China and the United States. The report shows that China and the US have both cultivated a number of renowned fintech companies. The world's two biggest economies have been actively developing in the key areas of Big Data, cloud computing, blockchain, and artificial intelligence while competing in technology application and talent recognition.

Editor: Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi