서울시, 글로벌 Top 10 금융도시 선정...미래성장 가능성 높은 도시 1위

- 시, 세계주요도시금융경쟁력측정국제금융센터지수(GFCI)10위…글로벌금융경쟁력상승
- ‘핀테크 순위’ 역시 2계단 상승하여 12위 기록, 디지털금융 도시 서울로서 경쟁력 입증
- 인프라 및 도시평판 상승으로 상위권 기록…미래부상가능성 부문 지난해 이어 1위 유지
- 시, 세계도시와 디지털금융 시장 선점 위해 규제개선 등 혁신적인 금융,투자 환경 필요



서울시가 세계 주요 도시의 금융경쟁력을 측정하는 대표지수인 ‘국제금융센터지수(GFCI 33)’에서 130개 도시 중에 10위로 평가받았다. ’15년 이후 기록한 최고 순위로 10위권 재진입에 성공했다.

영국 글로벌 컨설팅그룹 지옌(Z/Yen)사가 전 세계 130개 도시를 대상으로 분석한 ‘국제금융센터지수(GFCI) 33차 보고서’를 한국시간 3월 23일(목) 오후 18시(영국시간 오전 9시) 온라인 웨비나를 통해 발표했다. 국제금융센터지수(GFCI)는 지옌(Z/Yen)사가 ’07년부터 전 세계 도시의 국제금융경쟁력을 평가하여 매년 3월과 9월 두 차례 발표한다.

GFCI (Global Financial Centres Index) 지수
• 정의 : 연 2회(3월, 9월) 세계 도시별 금융 경쟁력을 평가해 순위를 매기는 지수(’07~)
• 주관 : 영국 Z/Yen, 중국종합개발연구원(CDI) 공동 주관(’16년~)
• 평가지표 : 5대 평가항목(기업환경, 인적자원, 인프라, 금융산업 발전, 도시평판)과 온라인 설문조사

이번 ‘국제금융센터지수(GFCI) 33차 보고서’에 따르면 서울시는 지난해 9월 발표된 종합순위 11위에서 1계단 상승한 10위를 기록하였다. 서울의 순위는 ’21년 여의도 금융중심지 활성화 정책을 본격 추진해 온 이후 꾸준한 상승세를 보여왔으며, 베이징(13위), 파리(14위), 도쿄(21위)보다 높은 순위다. 상위권 도시 중에서는 금융 선진도시 뉴욕이 1위, 런던이 2위를 각각 차지하였으며, 싱가포르(3위), 홍콩(4위)가 그 뒤를 이었다.

서울시는 5대 주요 평가항목 중 ‘기업환경’, ‘인프라’, ‘금융산업 발전’, ‘도시평판’ 4개 항목이 15위권 내에 모두 진입하는 고무적인 성과를 이뤄냈다. 특히 ‘도시평판’ 항목은 3계단 상승하여 9위를 기록하였으며, ‘인프라’ 항목 역시 5위를 기록하며 높은 평가를 받았다.

또한 미래부상 가능성 부분에서는 130개 도시 중 1위를 차지하며, 지난해에 이어 ‘미래 성장 가능성이 높은 도시’의 위상을 유지했다.

‘국제금융센터지수(GFCI)평가 분야 중 ‘핀테크 순위’ 역시 지난해 9월 순위보다 2계단 상승한 12위를 기록하며 디지털금융 도시 서울의 경쟁력을 높이 평가받았다.




Seoul Named One of Global Top 10 Financial Cities ... and the City Most “ Likely to Become More Significant

-The city ranked 10th in the GFCI, which measures the financial competitiveness of major cities worldwide... The result reflects the city’s growing financial competitiveness globally.
‐ The city’s fintech rank went up by 2 places to 12th in fintech, showing how competitive it is as a digital finance city.
‐ The growth in rank was driven by its infrastructure and improved reputation... The city remained in the no. 1 spot after last year in future prospect.
‐ To compete with other financial centers in the digital finance market, Seoul needs innovative financial and investment environments created through deregulation.

SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA, March 24, 202 3 Seoul ranked 10th among 130 cities in the 33rd edition of the Global Financial Centres Index (GCFI), one of the leading indexes for measuring the financial competitiveness of major cities around the world. This put the city back into the top ten list, and represents its best performance since 2015.

On March 23 (Thursday) at 6:00 p.m. (KST; 09:00 a.m. in BST), Z/Yen, a global consulting group based in the United Kingdom, released ‘The Global Financial Centres Index 33’ report through an online webinar. The report analyzes the financial competitiveness of 130 cities around the world.
○ Through the GFCI, which started in 2007, Z/Yen evaluates the financial competitiveness of cities around the world and announces the results twice a year in March and September.

ㅁGFCI (Global Financial Centres Index)
• Definition: Evaluates and ranks the financial competitiveness of cities around the world twice each year (March and September, since 2007)
• Organized by: Co-organized by Z/Yen in the United Kingdom and the China Development Institute (CDI, since 2016)
• Metrics: Five evaluation items (business environment, human resources, infrastructure, financial sector development, and reputation.

According to the report, Seoul’s rank rose by one place from last September, from 11th to 10th. Seoul has seen a continuous improvement in its GFCI rank since the implementation of its policies to revitalize Yeouido as a financial center in 2021. Seoul has surpassed Beijing (13th), Paris (14th), and Tokyo (21st).
○ At the top, New York took 1st place, followed by London (2nd), Singapore (3rd) and Hong Kong (4th).
Seoul achieved an inspiring result by making it into the top 15 for four of the five GFCI categories: business environment, evaluation, financial sector development, and reputation. In particular, the city ranked 9th in reputation, raising its rank by three places from the previous report, and 5th in infrastructure.

Seoul was recognized as a city most “likely to grow” in the future among the 130 cities evaluated, maintaining its status as a city with high potential for future growth.

Seoul’s ‘fintech’ rank also rose by two places to 12th since last September, which reflects its recognition for its high competitiveness as a digital finance city.

The city government has been focusing on facilitating the growth of future unicorn businesses by discovering promising fintech companies and providing support tailored to individual companies. For instance, the government opened the 2nd Seoul Fintech Lab in January, which provides assistance to digital finance startups. The Seoul Metropolitan Government plans to enhance its digital finance competitiveness even more.

Mayor Oh Se-hoon recently visited London, a city that stands at the forefront of the global financial sector, as part of his efforts to build the financial competitiveness of Seoul, where he announced his vision for Seoul as a financial center for Asia. He is committed to implementing the city’s comprehensive plan for financial industry development with the goal of turning the city into one of the world’s top 5 financial cities.

However, Seoul ranked lower than 15th in one of the five GFCI categories, ‘human resources.’ Its rank in ‘financial sector development’ also suffered a minor setback. These results seem to be attributable to the city’s finance and labor regulations, which points to the need for implementing innovative efforts including deregulation to create a financial and innovation environment that conforms to global standards.
“The GFCI rank aptly demonstrates the appeal and competitiveness of Seoul as a global financial city,” said Kim Tae-gyoon, who leads the Economic Policy Office of the Seoul Metropolitan Government. He further commented, “We will ensure the growth of Seoul into a global financial hub that draws more capital and talents from across the world.”

ㅇ Overview: Evaluates and ranks the financial competitiveness of cities around the world twice each year (March and September, since 2007)
ㅇ Announced by: Z/Yen Group (consulting group, UK) and China Development Institute (CDI)
ㅇ Evaluated Countries: Financial cities around the world (130 cities)
ㅇ Criteria: uses both quantitative criteria (metrics from 153 external institutions) and qualitative criteria (online survey)
ㅇ Five Quantitative Categories
- (Business Environment) legal and political stability, institutional and regulatory environment, taxes and cost competitiveness, etc.
- (Human Capital) Availability of high quality workforce, labor market flexibility, education quality, etc.
- (Infrastructure) Key infrastructure, ICT, transportation, sustainable development, etc.
- (Financial Sector Development) Financial industry clusters, market liquidity, economic impact, etc.
- (Reputation) city brand ranking, appeal, cultural diversity, city innovation, etc.

□ GFCI Rank
ㅇ March 2023 Rank: 10th among 130 countries ※up by 1 place since September 2022
○ 2019: lower than 30th → September 2021: 13th → September 2022: 11th → March 2023: 10th
ㅇ Ranks in 5 Quantitative Categories: 15th and higher in four categories (business environment, infrastructure, financial sector development, reputation)
ㅇ Likely to become more significant: 1st ※ No change in rank
ㅇ Fintech: 12th ※up by 2 places since September 2022
ㅇ GFCI Ranks by Region
－ North America: New York (1st), San Francisco (5th), LA (6th), Chicago (8th), Boston (9th)
－ Europe: London (2nd), Paris (14th), Amsterdam (16th), Frankfurt (17th)
－ Asia: Singapore (3rd), Hong Kong (4th), Shanghai (7th), Seoul (10th), Tokyo (21st)