Moscow gained back pre-crisis positions in the Z/Yen Global Financial Centres Index

In the latest Z/Yen Global Financial Centres Index, Moscow immediately rose by 17 points and came close to the level of the pre-crisis 2013.

“In September 2019, Moscow climbed 17 points - from 88th to 71st place - in the Global Financial Centres Index published by the British analytical company Z/Yen Group. In fact, the Russian capital has regained the position it held in 2014, before the introduction of international sanctions against the Russian Federation,” said Vladimir Yefimov, Deputy Mayor of Moscow for Economic Policy and Property and Land Relations.

In September 2013, Moscow ranked 69th in this rating. The rating is formed on the basis of a survey of three thousand financial experts around the world.

“The improvement in Moscow's position testifies to the effectiveness of programs aimed at creating an investment climate. The growth of the investment attractiveness of the capital of Russia for foreign entrepreneurs is also facilitated by high-quality information support, in particular, on the specially created Investment Portal of Moscow, which has been translated into five foreign languages,” said the vice mayor.

According to Vladimir Yefimov, today Moscow accounts for half of Russia's direct foreign investments. The largest investors in Moscow are companies from Europe (Germany, Finland, France, Italy, Austria and Sweden), as well as investors from the United States and Asia (Singapore, Japan, Turkey and South Korea).

“Most often, foreign investors invest in companies that are engaged in financial and insurance activities, in trade, in the industry and high technologies, as well as in real estate. Recently, the interest of foreign business in research and development, real estate operations and activities related to transportation and storage has grown significantly,” said the vice mayor.

“The subjective factor is becoming less and less important for foreign experts. They are paying more and more attention to the real achievements of the city authorities in improving the comfortable environment for investors, which has a positive impact on their assessments,” added Denis Tikhonov, Minister of the Moscow Government, Head of the Moscow Department of Economic Policy and Development.

The goal of the Z/Yen Global Financial Centres Index is to identify the most attractive cities for financial sector workers. The ranking covers the 104 largest financial centers in the world, which are ranked on five key factors: business climate, financial sector development, human capital, infrastructure and reputation. In September 2019, the rating was released 26 times. New York is the leader in it; the top 10 are London, Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai, Tokyo, Beijing, Dubai, Shenzhen and Sydney.