Astana has risen four positions in GFCI financial centres ranking 

According to the updated rating of financial centres GFCI36 (Global Financial Centres Index), Astana has climbed four positions to rank 62nd among global financial centres. The top positions are held by New York, London, and Hong Kong respectively. 

Astana also maintains its leadership in the Eastern Europe and Central Asia region, outperforming cities such as Prague, Warsaw, Istanbul, and Budapest, among others, for the past year and a half. 

Since 2007, the GFCI has been publishing two reports annually, tracking the progress of the world’s leading financial centres. The GFCI rating serves as a global benchmark for assesing financial centres and is developed in partnership between the China Development Institute (CDI) in Shenzhen and Z/Yen Partners in London. It provides a comprehensive evaluation of financial centres, considering diverse criteria such as the business environment, financial sector, infrastructure, human capital and city reputation. 

The 36th edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI) ranking assessed a total of 133 financial centres, with 121 included in the main index. The ranking relies on 143 macroeconomic indicators and over 37 000 assesments provided by over 6 000 respondents of the GFCI online survey. Macro indicators are provided by prominent international organisations such as the World Bank, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the United Nations (UN) and others. 

Alongside the main GFCI index, financial centres are also evaluated in terms of their FinTech offerings. In this category, Astana advanced six places, ranking 57th. According to respondents, factors such as access to finance, an innovation ecosystem, and ICT infrastructure play a key role in determining the inclusion of financial centres in this index.  

It is noteworthy that Astana first entered the GFCI ranking in March 2018. Its inclusion in this rating was the result of the launch of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC), which acts as a financial hub for investors and businesses, providing an ecosystem for the development of companies both in Central Asia and beyond. Astana’s leading position in the region in the GFCI rating reflects its reputational advantage among other financial centres. 

Reference: 

The Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is an independent jurisdiction with a favourable legal and regulatory environment and a developed infrastructure for starting and doing business, attracting investment, creating jobs and developing Kazakhstan’s economy.www.aifc.kz