Determinants of the Evolution of Asian Financial Centres

Financial centres are places of high level of capital concentration and dynamic activity of financial institutions. The aim of the article is to analyse the development of Asian financial centres and their position in the global financial system by analysing the ranking of the main financial centres in the world. To achieve this goal, specific economic indicators obtained by the Z/Yen Institute and published in a form of a recurring ranking of the key financial centres in the world, namely the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), were analysed. The thesis of the article states that contemporary changes in the global financial systems are driven by globalisation and enhanced liberalisation of capital flows in the countries which were not counted among the main global financial centres, but since they have begun to experience dynamic economic growth, they increasingly perform as significant economic actors and places of capital accumulation and transfer, and trade. The analysis concerns particularly the financial centres in Hong Kong, Singapore, and China (Shanghai, Beijing, and Shenzhen), which are influenced greatly by China‘s active role in the financial market.