By: Deborah Benn, International Investment, IFAonline

Offshore centres continue to progress according to the latest Global Finance Centre Index (GFCI) 13 by research group, Long Finance.

Offshore centres suffered significant reputational damage in 2008 and 2009, according to the report but the latest ratings show a marked improvement for all offshore centres, though most expereince releative declines in ranking since other financial centres have progressed.

Jersey remains the leading offshore centre followed by Guernsey, Monaco, Cayman Islands and the Isle of Man. Monaco shows the most marked advance since GFCI 12 with 57 points (moving up by 25 places) in the overall index.

London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore remain the top four centres. Hong Kong and Singapore are now only two points apart. There is a 48 point spread between London in first place and Singapore in fourth and then a gap of 3 points to Zurich in 5th place. Zurich and Geneva confirm their position in the GFCI top ten. Frankfurt and Paris rise significantly and have closed the gap on London a little. Luxembourg, Vienna, Milan and Rome also show improvements.

Other European centres are still affected by the Eurozone crisis. Lisbon, Reykjavik, Budapest and Athens decline, and remain at the bottom of the GFCI rankings.

All Asian financial centres except Beijing see their ratings improve. Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Tokyo experience the strongest rises in the region.

American centres see their ratings improve although Chicago, Toronto and San Francisco fall slightly in the ranks. Boston enters the GFCI top ten, climbing to 8th place. Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro are now in the GFCI top 50 and Buenos Aires makes a significant gain.

The report was sponsored by the Qatar Financial Centre Authority and produced by think tank, Z/Yen Group.

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