Nairobi jumped eight places to 98 out of the total 196 cities ranked globally in the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GCFI).
The index rates 116 financial centres across the world combining assessments from financial professionals with quantitative data which form instrumental factors.
“GFCI 30 provides evaluations of future competitiveness and rankings for 116 financial centres around the world. The GFCI serves as a valuable reference for policy and investment decision-makers,” said the report.
Produced by Z/Yen and the China Development Institute, the biannual ranking tracks 126 centres based on 146 instrumental factors. In GFCI 30, the main index increased from 114 to 116 with the addition of Kigali (94) and Lagos (102), which joined the index for the first time.
Surprisingly, Kigali featured as 5th on the continent after Casablanca, Cape Town, Johannesburg and Mauritius and ahead of Nairobi and Lagos.
According to the index, overall, the average rating fell 12.9 points (2.1%). While a small change, it is the third consecutive contraction in the average rating. Only 13 centres in the top 50 saw increases in rating points, eight of which are western European cities.
“These factors suggest that there remains some lack of confidence in the world economy. The fact that overall ratings continue to fall against the levels that we saw in 2019 reflects the continuing uncertainty around international trade, the impact of the covid-19 pandemic, and geopolitical and local unrest,” the report states.
New York leads the ranking, with London second. Both centres fell only slightly in the ratings.
