How global financial centers can help combat the COVID-19 pandemic

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How global financial centers can help combat the COVID-19 pandemic
WORLD ALLIANCE
                          of International Financial Centers

              How global financial
                centers can help
              combat the COVID-19
                   pandemic

>W hat Hong Kong            >W
                               hy the Bank of Japan           >W AIFC member
 ­learned from the SARS       favours quick responses           ­statements on how to
  epidemic in 2003            on COVID-19                        master crisis
How global financial centers can help combat the COVID-19 pandemic
2   W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

                                                                   Imprint

                                                                   World Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC)
                                                                   International non-profit association R.P.M.
                                                                   Brussels Enterprise number 719 719 907
                                                                   Boulevard Louis Schmidt 117/9, 1040 Etterbeek,
                                                                   Brussels, Belgium
                                                                   http://www.waifc.finance
                                                                   @WAIFC_
                                                                   info@waifc.finance
                                                                   www.linkedin.com/company/waifc

                                                                   Published by:
                                                                   Frankfurt Main Finance e.V.
                                                                   COLOSSEO
                                                                   Walther-von-Cronberg-Platz 16
                                                                   60594 Frankfurt am Main, Germany
                                                                   info@fmfinance.de
                                                                   @FMFdigital
                                                                   https://www.linkedin.com/company/frankfurtmainfinance/

                                                                   Picture credits:
                                                                   Hong Kong Harbour: iStock / bingfengwu; Young woman face
                                                                   mask: iStock / AsiaVision; Coronavirus: gettyimages / dowell;
                                                                   other photos: WAIFC member organizations
How global financial centers can help combat the COVID-19 pandemic
3   W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

                                          Contents

                                          Editorial............................................................ 4
                                          A global challenge ­requires a global response

                                          Hong Kong ...................................................... 6
                                          Interview with Christopher Hui from
                                          FSDC about Hong Kong‘s recovery from
                                          the SARS epidemic in 2003

                                          Japan ............................................................. 10
                                          Hiroshi Nakaso, Chairman of FinCity.Tokyo,
                                          on lessons learned from the Tohoku Earthquake

                                          Statements..................................................... 14
                                          How WAIFC financial centers help
                                          to overcome the COVID-19 crisis

                                          Home Story ................................................... 21
                                          Nicholas Mackel from Luxembourg for Finance
                                          on his new working habits

                                          WAIFC worldwide ......................................... 22
                                          Representing leading international
                                          financial centers
How global financial centers can help combat the COVID-19 pandemic
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A global challenge
­requires a global response

                                               Hubertus Vaeth is the Managing Director
                                               of Frankfurt Main Finance, as well as the
                                               founder and Managing Director of NewMark
                                               Finanzkommunikation.

Rarely has the world faced challenges such as today’s.                exchange of best practices. We are convinced that
Whatever comparison is drawn, COVID-19 and efforts                    ­global challenges require global responses.
to curb its spread are poised to inflict strain of historic
proportions on the world’s economy and financial sys-                 We are certainly not experts in handling pandemics, nor
tems. Within just weeks, economic growth has ground                   do we have an expert understanding of the working of
to a halt and gone into reverse. The virus knows no bor-              this particular, or for that matter, any virus. But what is
ders, nor can economic actions be seen in splendid isola-             strikingly evident is that while the crisis has waged on
tion. Wouldn’t it have been helpful had the world been                for some months, we still lack a systematic best prac-
prepared for such a crisis on this global scale? As this              tice approach to containing it and learning from those
was not the case, responses have been un­coordinated,                 that have dealt with it early on, with medical, economic,
country-specific, and isolated as can be. Our econo-                  or financial responses. Such luxury will be costly at a
mies could soon require as much intensive care as the                 time of strained resources, once world leaders decide to
worst affected patients. Where should we look for the                 get their economies back to work.
right economic medicine under these new and unpre­
cedented circumstances?                                               We can increase our chances of successfully executing
                                                                      such an unprecedented operation if we establish a com-
WAIFC IS A GLOBAL ASSOCIATION comprised of                            mon framework on how to get back to work. Morally
the world’s leading financial centers from four conti-                acceptable only when the personal risks are under con-
nents. We believe it is time to overcome our borders                  trol. In this assessment, we should also not forget what
and put competition aside for more cooperation and                    any lock-down means for the most vulnerable around
How global financial centers can help combat the COVID-19 pandemic
5    W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

                            « We can increase our
                           chances of successfully
                              executing such an
                          unprecedented operation if
                            we establish a common
                          framework on how to get
                               back to work. «

the globe. That calls for a multilateral framework sup-             and financial practices from our members. Sharing them
ported by a financial system able to function as a policy           helps to accelerate the development of a ­response with
transmission mechanism by providing much-needed                     the best chances for success. We must create a frame-
­liquidity thanks to a combination of central bank action           work to support our economies to recover as fast as
 and special fiscal risk absorption mechanisms.                     possible. Given the consequences, anything less than
                                                                    the best solutions is costly, and failure is not an option.
WE HAVE MUCH TO LEARN from each other and                           That is what motivates all of us in these c­ hallenging
history. Financial centers like Hong Kong or Tokyo suc-             times. •
cessfully coped with similar challenges in the past. We
should draw on these experiences. That is the motiva-
tion of our publication. On the following pages, we not
only share today’s responses and best practices, but we
also reflect on historical experiences. It will prove that
our financial systems are essential to the solution, and
the world can cope with such challenges, given the right
response.                                                                                Hubertus Vaeth

FOR WAIFC TO DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS
for such responses is beyond our means and mandate.
However, we can and hope to contribute the best ­fiscal
How global financial centers can help combat the COVID-19 pandemic
6       W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

« Our SARS experience
   has driven us to respond
   ­sooner and with adequate
    caution to COVID-19. «
        Christopher Hui, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Financial
        Services Development Council, explains why Hong Kong was able
        to recover quickly from SARS crisis 2003.

Graph 1: Hong Kong GDP                                                     Graph 2: Hong Kong Unemployment Rate
(at current market prices)                                                 (not seasonally adjusted)
(HKD‘ M)                                                                        %

500.000                                                                       10,0
                                                                                       first SARS case discovered
             first SARS case discovered                                                       in Hong Kong
                    in Hong Kong                                               9,0
400.000
                                                                               8,0

300.000
                                                                               7,0

                                                                               6,0
200.000

                                                                               5,0

100.000
                                                                               4,0

        0                                                                      3,0

                  2002        2003        2004        2005        2006                 2002       2003       2004   2005   2006
How global financial centers can help combat the COVID-19 pandemic
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                                                                                               « The epi­d emic
                                                                                                   affected
                                                                                                29 countries
                                                                                               & regions and
                                                                                            ­r esulted in more
                                                                                             than 8000 cases
                                                                                                  in 2003. «

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) is a viral respiratory illness
that was recognized as a global threat in March 2003, after first ap­
                                                                   ­­­
pearing in southern China in November 2002. The epi­demic affected
29 countries & regions and ­resulted in more than 8000 cases in 2003.
The SARS outbreak was an unexpected negative shock to Hong Kong’s
economy. At that time, Hong Kong’s consumer price ­deflation i­ nten­
sified, the fiscal deficit increased, and the Hong Kong d
                                                        ­ ollar was under
severe ­deprec­iation pressures. Local consumption and the export of
services related to tourism and air travel were severely affected in the
short run.

HOW LONG DID HONG KONG’S ECONOMY AND                                WHY HONG KONG COULD RECOVER SO FAST
CAPITAL MARKET TAKE IN 2003 TO FULLY                                AND SO STRONG FROM THE SARS CRISIS?
­R ECOVER FROM THE SHOCK OF SEVERE ACUTE                            WHAT WAS IN HONG KONG GOVERNMENT’S
 RESPIRATORY SYNDROME (SARS)?                                       TOOLBOX TO “FIX” THE NEGATIVE CONSE-
                                                                    QUENCE OF THAT CRISIS?
From graphs 1 and 2 we can see that Hong Kong staged
a strong rebound in terms of GDP and performance of                 Firstly, to minimize the repercussions of SARS, the Hong
Hang Seng Index as well as ­continuous fall in employ-              Kong government quickly deployed a four-prolonged
ment rate soon after the outbreak of S­evere Acute                  strategy focusing on (i) early detection, (ii) swift con-
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) in the first half of 2003.              tact tracing, (iii) prompt isolation & quarantine, and (iv)
Such positive momentum lasted for the next few years                effective containment.
after SARS.
                                                                    Secondly, Hong Kong government took a package of
Furthermore, as shown in the table on page 8, Hong                  relief and stimulus measures to contribute to the eco-
Kong’s capital market has reached even more milestones              nomic recovery, for example:
than ever before, in terms of equity, capital formation,
real economy and other areas. In the subsequent years               In April 2003, the Hong Kong government launched a
after SARS, Hong Kong has benefited from the further                 HK$11.8 billion package of relief measures to help the
expansion of the Mainland Chinese economy and gained                community tide over the SARS impact. In June 2003, a
its crown as of the world’s IPO fundraising leader, largest          HK$715 million enhanced package of e­ mployment initia­
offshore renminbi liquidity hub, amongst others.                     tives was announced to further alleviate the SARS impact.
How global financial centers can help combat the COVID-19 pandemic
8    W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

                                      Year 2002                      Year 2003           Year 2004
                                         (Pre-SARS)                 (Outbreak of SARS)   (Post-SARS)

     Hang Seng Index
                                          9,321                        12,576             14,230
      (equity market)

                                       (2002/12/31)                   (2003/12/31)       (2004/12/31)

    Total equity funds                        HK$                          HK$               HK$

        raised (capital                     101                           209               276
             formation)                     Billion                       Billion           Billion

                                       (2002/12/31)                   (2003/12/31)       (2004/12/31)

                                              HK$                          HK$               HK$
           Total annual
             retail sales                   177                           173               192
       (real economy)                       Billion                       Billion           Billion

                                       (2002/12/31)                   (2003/12/31)       (2004/12/31)
How global financial centers can help combat the COVID-19 pandemic
9    W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

                 « Hong Kong citizens have
                    also demonstrated
                 a high level of alertness
                   by voluntarily wearing
                  masks as they go out. «

Thirdly, Mainland China offered favorable supportive                oversee anti-pandemic efforts with clear strategies
facilitation:                                                       to minimize unnecessary social contact and permit
                                                                    work-from-home arrangement; respond speedily in
> In June 2003, the Hong Kong government and the                   light of changing situation, move ahead of the times
  ­Chinese Central Government signed the Closer Eco-                to prepare for the worst; and operate in an open and
   nomic Partnership Arrangement (“CEPA”), allowing                 transparent manner.
   qualified Hong Kong products, companies and resi-
   dents to preferentially access to the Mainland market.           The financial industry and related regulator also drove
                                                                    some initiatives to help the community in just a few
> In July 2003, the Individual Visit Scheme was in-                weeks after the first confirmed case in town. The Hong
   troduced as a tourism liberalization measure. The                Kong Monetary Authority (“HKMA”) established the
   Scheme allowed Mainland residents, who could only                Banking Sector SME Lending Coordination Mechanism
   visit Hong Kong on business visas or on group tours              and convened a special teleconference to discuss ways
   before, to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis.               for the industry to extend greater support to SME;
                                                                    reduced the countercyclical capital buffer (“CCyB”) to
> In November 2003, the People’s Bank of China                     allow banks to be more supportive to the local economy;
   (“PBoC”) agreed to provide clearing arrangements                 and provided banks with additional operational capa­
   for banks in Hong Kong, which could then conduct                 city by following the Group of Central Bank G  ­ overnors
   personal RMB business on a trial basis.                          and Heads of Supervision to defer the Basel III imple-
                                                                    mentation. In addition, banks extended principal mora­
HONG KONG IS GETTING MUCH BETTER                                    torium especially for advances by SMEs; and insurers
THROUGH THE COVID-19-CRISIS THAN MOST                               offered free limited protection to eligible hospital staff
OTHER FINANCIAL CENTERS, IS IT BECAUSE OF                           and free benefits for mandatory quarantine and hospi-
LESSONS LEARNED DURING THE BREAK OUT                                talization. Hong Kong citizens have also demonstrated
OF THE SARS VIRUS?                                                  a high level of alertness by voluntarily wearing masks
                                                                    as they go out. They also demonstrate self-discipline
Our memory of the hard-fought battle against SARS                   by minimising unnecessary social activities. While we
and other crises such as avian flu that we went through             might be seen as over-reacting at the beginning of the
in the past decades has driven us to respond sooner and             outbreak, we are glad to see that similar approaches
with adequate caution when another pandemic ­emerges.               have been adopted by different jurisdictions as we, to-
Led by the Government, a Chief E­xecutive-chaired,                  gether, fight this pandemic sensibly and responsibly. •
cross-departmental task force was formed quickly to
How global financial centers can help combat the COVID-19 pandemic
10   W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

     Japan’s disaster response
      Hiroshi Nakaso, Chairman of FinCity.Tokyo, talks about
      lessons learned from the Tohoku Earthquake.

HOW DID THE BANK OF JAPAN RESPOND                                   The Bank of Japan has a long tradition of q         ­uickly
TO TOHOKU EARTHQUAKE TO MAINTAIN                                     ­responding to a crisis as it unfolds. The earthquake
LIQUIDITY AND STABILITY?                                              was not an exception. The Disaster Management Team,
                                                                      which is the BCP Unit that the BoJ Governor chairs, was
 n March 11 2011, at 2.46 pm, the Tohoku or the
O                                                                     set up at 3 pm, 14 minutes after the quake and issued
north-eastern part of Japan was struck by a major                     the first statement at 3.29 pm that said “The Bank of
earthquake. It was the largest earthquake recorded                    Japan is conducting its business operations as usual at
in Japan with the magnitude reaching 9. Even though                   its Head Office as well as all of its branches and repre-
­Tokyo was 400 km away from the epicenter, the shake                  sentative offices, including those located in the Tohoku
 was so violent that people could hardly keep standing.               region.” It also reassured the financial community in Ja-
 Subsequently, the monstrous ­tsunami struck the ­pacific             pan by confirming that the BoJ-Net is up and running.
coast stretching over 1,000 km. The height of the                     It is the nation’s key financial infrastructure run by the
tsunami that struck the Tohoku region is said to have                 BoJ providing payment and settlement services for the
reached more than 10m. The coastal towns had a proud                  financial ­intermediaries.
history of surviving a number of tsunamis in the past
by creating big seawalls, which were often compared to              In the meantime, the yen’s exchange rate
the “Great Wall of China.” However this gigantic tsuna-              ap­
                                                                     ­  preciated to an all-time high for the reasons
mi easily penetrated the Wall and rushed several kilom-              that weren’t altogether clear. The Japanese govern­
eters inland. It literally wiped out villages, towns, farms          ment became increasingly concerned about the high-
and factories along with the inhabitants.                            er yen as it would add to the negative i­mpacts on the
                                                                     ­Japanese economy that had been already u ­ ndermined
11      W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

                                                                   « The Bank of Japan
                                                                 has a long tradition of
                                                                   quickly responding
                                                               to a crisis as it unfolds. «
     Hiroshi Nakaso
     Chairman of FinCity.Tokyo

by the quake and tsunami; a move clearly deviating                     With regard to the measures to address downside risks
from the fundamentals. The G7 was quick to r­espond.                   to the economy, the BoJ took further mone­tary policy
At 9 am 18 March Japan time, the G7 Finance Ministers                  actions. In this area, the BoJ doubled the size of the
and Central Governors issued a joint statement in which                Asset Purchase Program (APP) from JPY5 -10 trillion.
it said that they will embark on concerted intervention                The major portion of the increase was assigned to the
in exchange markets. The concerted action, which was                   purchase comprising of corporate bonds, CPs, and ETFs.
the first one in more than a decade, was also a symbolic               The intention of this policy was to preempt deteriora-
move demonstrating solidarity of the G7 nations.                       tion in business confidence and to preclude investors’
                                                                       risk aversion. Furthermore, in early April, the BoJ intro-
T he BoJ’s response was quick, too. There were three                  duced a new facility to support financial institutions in
 broad areas in terms of the central bank‘s response to                disaster areas. The intended purpose of the new facility
 the earthquake                                                        was to provide the financial institutions with low cost
                                                                       stable funding sources from the central bank to make
A. 
   maintenance of financial intermediation function                    sure they meet the borrowing demand as the recon-
   and securing smooth settlement                                      struction gets on its way In the quake-struck regions.

B. ensuring financial market stability; and                             verall, thanks to the timely policy responses, ­Japan’s
                                                                       O
                                                                       credit intermediary function, financial markets, and
C. addressing downside risks to economic activity.                     ­financial market infrastructures proved ­esilient enough
                                                                        to survive the disaster while keeping the economy
For the immediate task of maintaining financial inter­                  afloat.
mediary function and securing smooth fund settle­
ment, the BoJ delivered enough cash banknotes to the                   WHAT ARE KEY LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE
quake-struck region to meet the rising demand for                      TOHOKU EARTHQUAKE?
cash. People needed to withdraw deposits for cash to
buy food, water, and items to keep warm. Banknotes                      number of lessons can be drawn from the experiences
                                                                       A
were supplied in an around-the-clock o­ peration. Mean-                of dealing with the disaster. They are relevant in the
while, the BoJ-Net remained fully operational to ensure                current context of addressing the COVID-19. First, the
smooth fund settlement.                                                financial community and the authorities must establish
                                                                       effective communication network that enable coordi-
For the purpose of ensuring financial stability, the BoJ               nated actions in times of extreme stress. For example,
conducted a series of open market operation to inject                  the BoJ and the market participants in the money, FX,
a massive amount of liquidity into the money market                    and securities markets had regularly conducted BCP
to meet the Japanese banks’ precautionary demand for                   exercises in normal times. This helped the financial
liquidity, which increased after the quake against the                 industry in Tokyo to coordinate with the ­authorities
background of heightened uncertainties. The amount                     in a prompt and efficient manner. The BoJ sent out
of liquidity i­njection out-scaled the l­iquidity injection            the message to the financial community that the
after the fall of Lehman Brothers in September 2008.                   key ­financial infrastructure was up and running
12       W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

i­mmediately ­after the quake hit to ensure their normal                       of scope of the emergency declaration on April 7.
 operations. The financial institutions, meanwhile, up-                        Central ­ government, Tokyo ­  Metropolitan Govern-
 dated the ­authorities with the latest developments in                        ment, ­ FinCity.Tokyo and several financial institu-
 the markets. This helped the authorities to devise best                       tions worked c­losely to ensure liquidity in the mar-
 set of p
        ­ olicy responses.                                                     ket and contain impact on volatility which led to this
                                                                               direction.
 econd, the financial infrastructure must be so struc-
S
tured as to be resilient enough to withstand natural                           In addition, the Financial Services Agency is making the
and physical disasters. Japan is proud of the absolutely                        following requests to lenders such as banks to “pay
high level reliability of payment and settlement sys-                           special attention to financing of small and ­medium size
tems operated by the central bank and the private sec-                          businesses”.
tor. For example, the BoJ-Net ­operated by the central
bank has the potential of running for 24 hours overlap-                        A. visit companies and set up emergency help desks
ping with European and American time zones1. These
fail-safe payment and settlement systems are taken                             B. accommodate changes in loan terms such as
for granted and seldom visible from outside; however,                              ­moratorium on loans
they serve as key financial infrastructure to underpin
Tokyo’s function as financial center.                                          C. mandatory reporting to FSA on the number of ­cases
                                                                                  where change in loan terms have been made under
T hird, the central bank must be equipped with ­effective                        the Banking Act
 means of liquidity provision. In the aftermath of the
 earthquake, as was the case with the Global Finan-                            D. implement emergency loan schemes which do not
 cial Crisis, there was a large increase in precaution-                            require collaterals or guarantees
 ary ­demand for cash against the backdrop of height-
 ened uncertainties. The central bank must satisfy the                         E. request special interviews to financial institutions
 ­demand in order to maintain the financial stability. The                         in order to have a grasp of the latest state of client
  BoJ has developed many liquidity injection instruments                           firms
  to serve the purpose, ranging from repo-operations,
  targeted lending facilities, and asset purchase program                      F urthermore, other areas in financial services for exam-
  to buy government bonds as well as credit instruments.                        ple the operation of stock markets are subject to BCP
                                                                                plans which were formulated in response to past large
                                                                                scale earthquakes etc by stock exchanges and are b   ­ eing
HOW IS JAPANESE GOVERNMENT APPLYING                                             applied to the current coronavirus outbreak,
THE LESSONS LEARNED TO THE CORONAVIRUS
DISASTER?                                                                      In terms of the operation of stock markets, in the event
                                                                                of past market share reaching a set level as a result of
In response to the current novel coronavirus, the Jap-                         reduced participation by market participants, stock ex-
 anese government and local authorities such as ­Tokyo                          changes may suspend trading in a­ nticipation of a large
 Metropolitan Government have been encouraging their                            impact on price discovery. This rule is published in the
 citizens to wear face masks and wash their hands,                              website of stock exchanges in order to ensure predicta-
 ­preventing them from buying up supplies and sharing                           bility by market participants.
  information such as the state of infection and govern-
  ment response in order to limit further contagion and                         s indicated in the response to the current COVID-19
                                                                               A
  anxieties.                                                                   outbreak based on past experiences, the critical n­ ature
                                                                               of many financial services and the importance of en-
Especially for financial services, the government                             suring their operation must be shared by all of the
 made clear its basic position to maintain and pro-                            relevant parties including law makers and regulators.
 vide business as usual financing functions and                                The key ­financial services comprise providing consumer
 financial services such as banking were kept out
 ­                                                                             access to cash, electronic payments and other banking

1
    Currently it is operated until 9 pm although it can be operated 24 hours
13   W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

and lending services, and market-making to maintain                 payment system and the stock exchange that can with-
market liquidity. Practices must be in place to ensure              stand natural and physical disasters. Equally important
minimum number of essential personnel are kept on-                  is the good two-way communication ­between the fi-
site during the severest stress arising from disasters.             nancial institutions and the relevant authorities, so that
                                                                    critical information can be shared in a timely manner.
E xperiences of crisis management must be kept as in-              Good communication is a prerequisite to devise effec-
 stitutional memories at financial institutions and au-             tive policy responses to problems that threaten the
 thorities. There are key elements to be remembered                 functioning of a financial center.
 and inherited. The habit of “bad news first” is an exam-
 ple. The experiences tell that the worse the news, the             In this interconnected world in which the financial
 greater the need to share such news fast with those                 centers of the world operate, it is critical to learn from
 concerned. This makes it possible to make the right in-             each other. In this regard, WAIFC provides an ideal fo-
 itial response at a critical moment and act promptly in             rum to facilitate such information sharing. Currently,
 the right direction. It is equally important to prepare for         the most imminent task for any financial center is to
 the worst and hope for the best. In a crisis situation, we          overcome the Coronavirus. This is a ­novel and unfore-
 must assume the worst possible outcomes and prepare                 seen type of threat to the stability of global financial
 the best possible countermeasures. The worst is not do-             system. Sharing the experiences of the WAIFC members
 ing anything and simply hoping for the best.                        will prove highly useful.

                                                                     ur supply chains are much more globally integrated
                                                                    O
ANY KEY MESSAGES FOR OTHER FINANCIAL                                and intertwined compared to when the Tohoku earth-
CENTERS?                                                            quake and Lehman debacle took place. We are also
                                                                    much more exposed to both reliable and unreliable in-
T he task of liquidity injection goes beyond provid-               formation through social media. As a result, people are
 ing domestic currency. In the interconnected financial             much more prone to pandemic of rumors. Therefore, it
 world of today, ensuring enough supply of the US dol-              is far more important for financial services authorities,
 lar, the key currency, under stressful market conditions           central banks and financial institutions to coordinate
 has become a primary role for the central banks. This              and cooperate in a seamless manner based on the most
 is demonstrated in the Lehman debacle as well as in                reliable intelligence without losing holistic perspectives.
 the Corona Shock. The BoJ, in this ­regard, has a per-
 manent swap agreement with the FRB, from which it                  WAIFC is well positioned to encourage all the
 can acquire, theoretically unlimited amount of US dol-             key stakeholders to align on the macroeconomic
 lar liquidity against its own currency, which can then             priorities and act on our accumulated wisdom when
 be channeled to the financial institutions operating in            each player is fire fighting with the day-to-day
 Japan. Thus, Tokyo can function as a key backstop en-              challenges. •
 suring provision of the key currency.

Our experiences of coming through various disasters
tell us that provision of financial services is a basic in-
frastructure to support the social and ­economic stabili-
ty that must be kept operational at all times. The critical
financial services can be provided only when the entire
network of financial services providers, including banks
and other types of financial institutions functions prop-
erly. The resiliency of the network (financial ecosystem)
is an indispens­able element for a financial center.
                                                                                     « Practices must be in
T he resiliency is built on the foundation of highly reli­                        place to ensure minimum
 able and fail-safe financial infrastructure, such as the
                                                                                      number of essential
                                                                                   personnel are kept on-site
                                                                                   during the severest stress
                                                                                    arising from disasters. «
14     W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

ABU DHABI

     ADGM TAKES IMMEDIATE
     ­M EASURES TO MITIGATE THE
      IMPACT OF COVID-19

     In keeping with Abu Dhabi‘s                  > 1
                                                    00% waiver on Commercial             H.E. Ahmed Ali Al Sayegh,
     ­robust economic stimulus pack-                Licence renewal fees (with ex-        Minister of State (UAE) and
                                                                                          ­
      age to support the economic                   ception of SPVs and founda-           Chairman of Abu Dhabi Global
      acti­vity and facilitate business             tions licences) until 25 March        Market, said, “ADGM has pre-
      in the Emirate, Abu Dhabi G­ lobal            2021                                  pared a set of support measures
      Market (ADGM), the Interna-                                                         to ­assist our registered entities
      tional Financial Center in Abu              > 1
                                                    00% waiver on Business               and the community through this
      Dhabi, has launched a set of                  Activity renewal fees until           challenging period. These meas-
      finan­cial and support measures               25 March 2021                         ures will complement the cur-
      to mitigate the adverse impact                                                      rent robust packages from the
      of the coronavirus (COVID-19)               > 1
                                                     00% waiver on Data P­ rotection     UAE Authorities and Abu ­    Dhabi
      pandemic on registered entities               renewal fees until 25 March           Government, and bolster the
                                                                                          ­
      operating in its financial free
      ­                                             2021                                  nation’s economic strategy and
                                                                                          ­
      zone on Al Maryah Island:                                                           initiatives to keep our people and
                                                  > 1
                                                     00% waiver on new Tempo-            country sustain­able and safe.” •
                                                    rary Work Permits issuance, re-
                                                    newal and late application fees
                                                    until 25 March 2021,etc.

ASTANA

     FOCUSING ON CAPITAL MARKETS
                                                                                                AIF
                                                                                                                Astana
                                                                                                                International

     AND SMES IN KAZAKHSTAN
                                                                                                                Financial
                                                                                                                Centre

     As the leading international                 kets, businesses have been able         familiar ­regulatory environ­ment,
     finan­cial centre for Central Asia,          to raise equity capital to ensure       one pool of liquidity for domestic
     the Astana International Finan-              their business viability. Absent a      and offshore investors, strong do-
     cial Centre (AIFC) works with                well-developed local market, these      mestic institutional investors and
     the Government of Kazakhstan                 capital raising options do not exist.   a ­vibrant retail investor base.
     to streamline, trans­   form and,            Governments will therefore be re-
     increasingly, to digitalise the ac-          quired to support many otherwise        Volatile and post-crisis markets
     cess points to financial products,           viable businesses directly through      have historically shown great op-
     economic business and inward                 state support or nationalisation        portunity for capital gains, but it
     investment.                                  or indirectly through recapitalisa-     is small and medium enterprises
                                                  tion of the banking system. The         (SMEs) which are often hit quicker
     The events of the past few                   fundamental building blocks of          and hit harder. Under the auspic-
     months underscore the impor-                 a vibrant domestic capital mar-         es of WAIFC, AIFC is leading the
     tance of developing a vibrant local          ket remain unchanged: a simple,         ongoing project for identifying
     capital market. Issuance of corpo-                                                   SME best practices. SME initiatives
     rate debt has reached record lev-                                                    will be a powerful instrument for
     els as businesses strengthen their                 « AIFC is leading the             protecting employment and the
     balance sheets in the face of a                     ongoing project for              re-emergence of global econo-
     sharp reduction in revenue. And                    identifying SME best              mies, as we begin to move out of
     even in smaller developed mar-                         practices. «                  the crisis period. •
15     W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

                                                                                                                 BRUSSELS

     INITIATIVES SHOW
     SOLIDARITY IN ACTION

     Most countries and organiza-                 payments will be maintained, and
     tions have come up with numer-               the platform will assess which
     ous measures to mitigate the                 ­issuers need this form of support.
     harm to the economy.
                                                  This could prove an attractive
     An interesting initiative has been           solution, alleviating the stress
     proposed by Look&Fin, the largest            on the treasury of issuers while
     crowdlending platform in Belgium.            keeping the return of investors
     Investors have been asked to vote            un­affected. Indeed, only the dura­
     on the possibility for the platform          tion is slightly extended. After a
     to allow some issuers to suspend             few days, 98% of investors v­ oted
     the capital reimbursement for a              in favor of the proposal: a nice
     maximum of 6 months. Interest                ­example of solidarity! •

                    « After a few days, 98% of investors                                Frederic de Laminne
                    voted in favor of the proposal: a nice                              Secretary general,
                          example of solidarity! «                                      Belgian Finance Center

                                                                                                                 BUSAN

     CONSISTENT SIGNAL
     FOR MARKET STABILITY

     Through preemptive and trans-                linked to contraction of consump-     an un­ precedented measure be
     parent measures, Korea is grad-              tion, invest­
                                                              ment and industrial       taken.
     ually stabilizing from the spread            activities.
     of COVID-19, and is striving to                                                    The government decided to sup-
     overcome the economic crisis                 An important point of the Korean      ply loans or guarantees worth
     through active financial policies.           government‘s response is that it      50 billion dollars (58 trillion won)
                                                  is sending a consistent message       to SMEs through policy lenders.
     In particular, Korean government             to the market “unprecedented          The Bank of Korea also entered
     is implementing a drastic expan-             financial response”. The South
                                                  ­                                     into a currency swap agreement
     sionary macroeconomic policy                 ­Korean president defined the cur-    with the United States, and pro-
     and financial stability policy to-            rent crisis as an emergency econo-   vide unlimited liquidity to finan-
     taling 100 billion dollars (132 tril-         my that is incomparable to that of   cial companies by purchasing RPs
     lion won) so that COVID-19 is not             MERS or SARS, and ordered that       regardless of the amount for the
                                                                                        first time in history. In addition,
                 « An important point of the Korean                                     local governments and financial
              government‘s response is that it is sending                               institutions have decided to co-
                 a consistent message to the market                                     operate to actively support SMEs
                “unprecedented financial response”. «                                   and self-employed persons affect-
                                                                                        ed by the crisis. •
16     W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

CASABLANCA

     HOW MOROCCO BATTLES THE COVID-19 –
     EXCEPTIONAL MEASURES, SOLIDARITY AND
     CALL FOR ACTIVE COOPERATION IN AFRICA

     Morocco was one of the first                 A high-level economic watch com-        the UN Economic Commission for
     African countries to implement               mittee is also in place to monitor      Africa, a $100Bn stimulus is re-
     strict sanitary measures which               and manage the economic con-            quired to avoid a recession. Hence
     included immediate quaran-                   sequences of the pandemic. It           the need for a worldwide coordi-
     tine, closing of country borders,            announced the suspension of all         nated response. •
     banning intercity travel and au-             legal and regulatory deadlines,
     thorizing a therapeutic protocol             of bank loans repayments and
     based on chloroquine.                        leasing as well as social charges
                                                  for companies until June 30th.                 « The central bank
                                                  The central bank activated addi-
                                                                                               activated additional
     A special fund with an initial               tional credit lines to facilitate in-
                                                                                                   credit lines to
     $1 billion was created to collect            ter-banking liquidity for SMEs and
                                                                                                  facilitate inter-
     private and public funding in                a new guarantee mechanism will
                                                                                                 banking liquidity
     order to strengthen the health
     ­                                            cover 95% of the loans of com-
                                                                                                for SMEs and a new
     system and finance special allo-             panies facing difficulties. Even
     cations and safety nets especially           though Africa boasts the young-             guarantee mechanism
     for the underprivileged. Thanks to           est population of all continents,               will cover 95% of
     a national solidarity movement               the challenges ahead are unprec-           the loans of companies
     the fund has so far reached $3Bn.            edented in Africa, as according to           facing difficulties. «

FRANKFURT

     GERMAN COMPANIES RECEIVE MASSIVE
     SUPPORT FROM THE STATE, DEVELOPMENT
     BANKS AND THE FINANCIAL INDUSTRY

     Waste not, want not – the arche-             are immediately payable and range
     typal German proverb. German                 from 10,000 to 30,000 Euro, de-
     fiscal policy has officially said            pending on number of employees.
     Auf Wiedersehen to the balanced
     budget and taken measures                    Companies can also apply for and
     described as “unprecedented in               workers can receive what is called
     Germany’s post-war history.”                 Kurzarbeitergeld, more literally:
                                                  short-time allowance. This allows       Hubertus Vaeth
                                                  companies, for a period of up to        Managing Director,
     The relief package is well in excess         12 Month, to reduce working hours       Frankfurt Main Finance
     of 500 billion Euro. The German              for a part or whole of their staff to
     national and regional development            up to zero. Effected staff receive      Last but not least Germany’s
     banks, led by KfW, have been em-             60-67% of their pre-crisis pay from     famed Mittelstand began an initi-
     powered to provide liquidity for             the Federal Labour Office (FLO). So     ative, with public support, to bring
     small, medium and large business-            far, around 470,000 companies           together technologies in order
     es struggling with the economic              have applied to take advantage of       to faster produce more and bet-
     and financial fallout of the current         this programme. There is already        ter protective masks, ventilators,
     global health c­risis. This support          discussion to potentially extend        tests and, hopefully soon, vaccines
     comes as grants for SME’s, which             the 12 Month period.                    and therapeutic ­treatments. •
17     W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

                                                                                                              HONG KONG

     GIVING SMES
     A HELPING HAND

     A primary role of the financial              alleviate burden of paying wages
     services industry is to provide              and rents by SMEs.
     liquidity for the real economy
     to grow and thrive. Currently,               Insurers also proactively extended
     small and medium enterprises                 free limited coronavirus disease
     (SMEs) account for 98% of the                protection to eligible hospital
     total business units and offer               staff and offered free benefits to
     some 45% of jobs in private sec-             clients in case of hospitalisation
     tor in Hong Kong.                            or mandatory quarantine. There
                                                  is no doubt that our financial ser-
     In short, the wellbeing of SMEs is           vices industry stands in solidarity
     the lifeline of some 1.3 million fam-        with community in weathering
     ilies or individuals in Hong Kong.           the storm. •
     During challenging times, nothing
     is more crucial than l­iquidity for
     these firms to stay afloat. Soon                    « In short, the well-
     after the COVID-19 outbreak, the                      being of SMEs is
     banking sector introduced 100%                      the ­l ifeline of some         Christopher Hui
     Loan Guarantee under the SME                        1.3 million families           Executive Director, Hong Kong Financial
     Financing ­  Guarantee Scheme to                      or individuals. «            Services Development Council

                                                                                                              LUXEMBOURG

     COVID-19: EMBRACING DIGITALI­
     SATION IN TIMES OF CRISIS

     The COVID-19 outbreak has                              « Teleworking               the virus. With fears that cash
     impacted mankind faster and                         tools have quickly             could contribute to spreading
     more swiftly than anything                              become part                the virus, COVID-19 is a catalyst
     we have known since WW2.                            of the mainstream              for leveraging cash less transac-
                                                          as “working from              tion solutions, as it might lead to
                                                           home” becomes                an increasing use of tap-and-go
     We are seeing early signs of a                        the new normal               payment channels or other forms
     shift in how businesses and finan-                 for financial services          of digital transactions. FinTech
     cial services companies behave,                    companies, allowing             and new technologies will defi-
     putting digitalisation at the heart                  them to maintain              nitely play a large role in both
     of their strategy, not only to stay                                                kick-starting our world and econ-
                                                               business
     ahead of the curve, but to flatten                                                 omy again, and making it more
                                                             continuity. «
     it. Teleworking tools have quickly                                                 resilient for the future. •
     become part of the mainstream
     as “working from home” becomes
     the new normal for financial ser-            vation for the public good and
     vices companies, allowing them               the increasing role of Artificial
     to maintain business continuity.             Intelligence and Blockchain not
     Above all, the pandemic is ex-               only to track and forecast out-
     posing the importance of inno-               breaks but also to help diagnose
18     W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

MOSCOW

     WHAT FINANCIAL TECHNOL­O GIES
     CAN DO TO HELP AGAINST THE
     CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

     Advanced technologies are essen­             Such ideas and projects are col-       the number of residents moving
     tial in combating the coronavi­              lected on the digital platform         around the city and the number
     rus pandemic and its economic                of the Moscow Innovation Clus-         social contacts. •
     impact. In recent years, IFCs                ter. For example, in the fear of
     have played an important role                spreading the coronavirus infec-
                                                                                               « MIFC ranks high
     in fostering innovation by sup­              tion, many people refuse to use
                                                                                                in global fintech
     porting companies engaged                    cash and plastic debit cards. The
                                                                                                market. In times
     in digitalization of financial               SWiP fintech-service is active in
     market.                                      promoting a contactless payment              of “coronacrisis”,
                                                  service that uses a biometric                 technology plat-
                                                  ­facial recognition system and a QR          forms and fintech
     MIFC ranks high in global fintech             code. Another fintech-company –            solutions are at the
     market. In times of “coronacrisis”,           ViewApp – offers to use its app to        forefront in fighting
     technology platforms and fintech              quickly check on the avail­ability        against ­c oronavirus,
     solutions are at the forefront in             of essential goods and medi-                e.g increasing city
     fighting against coronavirus, e.g             cines. Their app informs custom-          safety and support­
     increasing city safety and sup-               ers on the real situation in stores        ing vulner­a ble real
     porting vulnerable real sector.               and pharmacies, thus reducing                    sector. «

MUSCAT

     ENSURING CASH FLOW IN THE MARKET
     DURING THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

     Just like the rest of the world,             other precautionary procedures         also requested all SAOGs to go
     uncertainty about how severe                 issued to banks and FLCs.              ahead with distributing dividends
     the effects of the Coronavirus                                                      for the year ended 31/12/2019
     out break on the Omani economy               As the regulator of the Capital Mar-   requiring ex-dates to be the same
     has been the case. The duration              ket and Insurance Industries, the      as disclosed earlier in AGMs invita-
     of this outbreak is still unknown            Capital Market Authority (CMA)         tions sent to shareholders. The aim
     and this is only adding to the un-           issued instructions to all SAOGs to    of this move is to have as much as
     certainty adding further ambigu-             postpone their AGMs as a meas-         OMR 409 million (USD 1.1billion)
     ity to the severity of the effects.          ure to help curb the spread of the     re-injected in the market. •
                                                  coronavirus pandemic. The CMA
     To curb these effects the ­Omani
     government has taken some
     meas­ures. Royal orders were giv-                           « The Central Bank of Oman (CBO) has
     en to form a High Committee to                                 come up with a stimulus package
     deal with the consequences of                             to inject OMR 8 billion (USD 20.87 billion)
     the outbreak. The Central Bank of                            into the economy. This is in addition
     Oman (CBO) has come up with a                             to other precautionary procedures issued
     stimulus package to inject OMR                                       to banks and FLCs. «
     8 billion (USD 20.87 billion) into
     the economy. This is in addition to
19     W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

                                                                                                                     PARIS

     2020 CRISIS, A WAY FORWARD:
     HOW FINANCIAL CENTERS HELP?

     Two major issues: to manage                  mize the chances to win this war
     the economical parenthesis and               we must share and work together.
     minimize failures by substitut-              That is the essence of WAIFC.
     ing enterprises ‘frozen earnings
     by public liquidity intermedi-               Actions will be a mix of human
     ated by banks, second to lev-                resources, processes, financial
     erage this terrible global crisis            instru­ments (capital, credit…) and
     management time to deeper                    adapted regulation to disconnect
     our societal fragility and chal-             business as usual provisional or
     lenges that preexisted to the                prudential rules from this unu-
     crisis governance, technology,               sual time of frozen economy not
     ­environment.                                kill institutions before the restart    Arnaud de Bresson
                                                  times. FC should contribute in          Chief Executive Officer,
     Financial centers with their pluri-          ­better identification and articula-    Paris EUROPLACE
     disciplinary components are one               tion between needs and resources
     of the proper “tools” to address              and the international dimension        In France the banking federation,
     those challenges. The reconstruc-             of WAIFC will contribute to cross      investors association, insurance
     tion phase is urgent and already              fertilize actions.                     federation took unprecedent ini-
     started. The first lesson is that we                                                 tiatives to leverage first govern-
     are “in the same” boat: to maxi-                                                     mental liquidity. •

                                                                                                                     QATAR

     QATAR FINANCIAL CENTRE
     IMPLEMENTS BUSINESS STIMULUS
     MEASURES IN THE LIGHT OF COVID-19

     In the wake of the COVID-19 pan-             Charge due on qualifying QFC en­
     demic, QFC is providing deadline             tities that elect for the 0% Conces­
     extensions for tax filings due               sionary Rate under Part 15 of the
     to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis,              Tax Regulations if the election is
     in addition to reducing the rate             made during the year 2020. QFC is
     of the charge due on the late                also providing deadline extensions
     payment of tax (late payment                 for filing ­audited annual finan­cial
     charge) to 0% from 1 March                   by a period of two months.
     2020 to 31 August 2020.                                                              Yousuf Mohamed Al-Jaida
                                                  Qatar is also witnessing the accel­     Chief Executive Officer,
     The updated rates ensure that any            eration of Fintechs to facilitate       Qatar Financial Centre
     QFC firm who extends their filing            online payment. QPAY, a leading
     due date will not suffer any late            Fintech provider in Qatar and QFC       His Excellency Sheikh Abdullah bin
     payment charges until 31 August              firm, slashed prices by 50% to          Saoud Al Thani, recently launched
     2020, should their tax due also be           help Qatari SMEs accept electronic      the “Qatar Mobile Payment
     paid after the payment due date.             payments instead of cash which          ­System” (QMP), which provides a
     In addition, the QFC announced the           may be contaminated. The Gov­            new and safe method for immedi­
     waiver of the Concessionary Rate             ernor of Qatar Central Bank (QCB),       ate electronic payment. •
20     W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

STUTTGART

     TRUST IS THE BEGINNING
     OF EVERYTHING!

     The financial crisis already                 certain about political actions and     solutions. One great example is
     taught us, how distrust can be               companies doubt the economic            the World Alliance of Interna-
     the beginning of an end, if you              development, and quit further           tional Centers. The WAIFC creates
     don’t act with courage. This                 ­investments.                           transnational relationships and
     is something we did not only                                                         increases the economic and social
     learn back in 2009, it is some-              The most powerful force against         cohesion and trust. •
     thing that has to be considered              todays Corona Virus is and can
     for any type, including todays               only be the trust between hu-
     ­COVID-19, crisis.                           mans, companies, and the mar-
                                                  ket. This is where financial centers
     Times of crises are always con-              play an important role. Financial
     nected with increasing uncer-                centers foster long-lasting rela-                   « The most
     tainty, fear, and distrust. People           tionships and reliable networks                   powerful force
     paralyze and fall back into histor-          on a regional, national, and in-                 against todays
     ical stress patterns. Banks stop             ternational level. Especially in                 Corona Virus is
     lending money to each other, con-            situations like todays crisis, reli-            and can only be
     sumer decrease their consump-                able networks can be the key to                   the trust bet-
     tion because of distrust towards             sustainably strengthen the trust                  ween humans,
     upcoming events at the market,               between institutions, share best                ­c ompanies, and
     citizens become increasingly un-             practice experience, and exchange                  the market. «

TORONTO

     SUPPORTING SMEs THROUGH
     COVID-19

     Canada’s financial sector, gov-              i­nterest free loans supported by the
     ernments, and regulators have                 government’s Emergency Busi­ness
     acted quickly and in a coordi-                Account. Government wage subsi-
     nated fashion to ensure access               dies, a rent assistance program for
     to credit and financial stability            small businesses, interest rate cuts
     for individuals and businesses.              and reduced stability buffers have
                                                  also been implemented to send
     Supporting SMEs has been a critical          more credit to SMEs.
     focus for Canada given that 99%
     of businesses in Canada are SMEs.            Financial sector support for SMEs
     Canada’s largest banks swiftly               through the crisis is no doubt
     made a commitment to work with               ­critical to both the domestic and
     Canadians to provide flexible solu-           global economic recovery. •
     tions to help them through the cri-                                                  Jennifer Reynolds
     sis. This has included actions such                                                  President & CEO,
     as offering mortgage payment re-                  « Supporting SMEs has              Toronto Finance International
     lief to customers via deferred mort-               been a critical f­ ocus
     gage payments; payment deferrals                  for Canada g­ iven that
     on existing small business loans,                  99% of businesses in
     credit cards and credit lines, and                  Canada are SMEs. «
21   W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

“Welcome to my
home office”
Nicolas Mackel, Ceo of Luxembourg for Finance

During the confinement ordered in most countries, work is continuing.
We reproduce here a story o
                          ­ riginally published by Delano ­Magazine from
Luxembourg featuring Nicolas M­ ackel, the CEO of ­Luxembourg for Finance
who talks about adapting to this new working habits.

WHEN DID YOU START TELECOMMUTING AS A                               challenge now is that none of the colleagues are in the
COVID-19 PRECAUTION?                                                office and so some tasks are difficult to execute. We
                                                                    have taken to group-chatting via Whatsapp, video-con-
We decided last week to implement teleworking, first                ferencing via Webex meetings and calls via Facetime.
on Thursday by offering our commuting colleagues,
then on Friday all parents of young children, and finally,          HOW DO YOU MAKE TELECOMMUTING WORK
as of Sunday, everybody, to work from home. For some                FOR YOU?
it is easier than for others. Having very young kids at
home can make teleworking illusory. They are grateful               Even if the situation is extraordinary, we go about our
for the special holidays granted in this situation. My              work. Our communication team is still running our dif-
kids are teenagers and thus have offered a non-aggres-              ferent channels (website, social media, etc), albeit with
sion pact where they will let me work if I don’t interfere          an obviously adapted content. Our business develop-
too much with their screen abuse ... I have even taken              ment colleagues are taking advantage of this time to
up doing some exercise again on my home trainer.                    revise our brochures and to develop new ones. Our
                                                                    events team is managing the c­onsequences of the
WHAT ARE YOUR MOST WIDELY USED TELE-                                events we have had to cancel and preparing those we
COMMUTING TOOLS OR APPLICATIONS?                                    still are confident can take place. Overall, we are fol-
                                                                    lowing closely the economic and financial fallout of this
Prior to COVID-19, I was used to managing my work as                crisis and starting to think how we need to react to it
well as staying in touch with my team from a distance               in terms of positioning Luxembourg’s main economic
because of my extensive travel schedule. However, the               activity for the aftermath. •

                                                  « We have taken to
                                                  group-chatting via
                                                   Whatsapp, video-
                                                   conferencing via
                                                 Webex meetings and
                                                 calls via Facetime. «
22        W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

WAIFC worldwide
WAIFC facilitates cooperation between financial centers, exchange
of best practices and communication with the general public. WAIFC
members are city governments, associations, and similar institutions
developing and promoting their financial centers.

Directory
 CONTINENT            CITY             O R G A N I S AT I O N   WEBSITE                                  TWITTER            EMAIL

                      Brussels         BFC                      http://www.belfinclub.be/                @Belgian_Finance   info@belfinclub.be
                      Frankfurt        FMF                      https://frankfurt-main-finance.com/en    @FMFdigital        info@fmfinance.de
                      London           TheCityUK                https://www.thecityuk.com/               @TheCityUK         info@thecityuk.com
 Europa
                      Luxembourg       LFF                      http://www.luxembourgforfinance.com/en   @LuxFinance        lff_market_intelligence@lff.lu
                      Moscow           MIFC                     http://www.mfc-moscow.com/               @moscowgov         info@mfc-moscow.com
                      Paris            Paris Europlace          http://www.paris-europlace.com/en        @europlace         contact@paris-europlace.com

                      Nur-Sultan       AIFC                     https://aifc.kz/                         @AIFC_KZ           info@aifc.kz
                      Busan            BIFC                     http://www.bifc.kr/eng/main/main.php     @BusanCityGovt     bifc@bepa.kr
 Asia/Pacific
                      Hong Kong        FSDC                     http://www.fsdc.org.hk/en                @FSDCHK            enquiry@fsdc.org.hk
                      Tokyo            FinCity.Tokyo            https://fincity.tokyo/                   @FinCityTokyo      contact@fincity.tokyo

                      Abu Dhabi        ADGM                     https://www.adgm.com/                    @ADGlobalMarket    info@adgm.com
 Middle East          Muscat           CMA                      https://www.cma.gov.om/                  @cmaoman           info@cma.gov.om
                      Doha             QFC                      https://www.qfc.qa/en                    @QFCAuthority      contact@qfc.qa

 Americas             Toronto          TFI                      https://www.tfi.ca/                      @TFI_Canada        info@tfi.ca

                      Casablanca       CFC                      http://www.casablancafinancecity.com/    @CasaFinanceCity   contact@cfca.ma
 Africa
                      Mauritius        EDB Mauritius            http://www.edbmauritius.org/             @EDBMauritius      contact@edbmauritius.org
23   W O R L D A L L I A N C E of International Financial Centers

                       AIF
                                       Astana
                                       International
                                       Financial
                                       Centre
WORLD ALLIANCE
                                                                                                                                            of International Financial Centers

                                    Belgian Finance Center                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            Busan International Financial
                                                                                                                                      Abu Dhabi Global Market                                                                             Casablanca Finance City                                        City Promotion Center
                                 The Belgian Finance Center (BFC) is a non-profit
                                 organization created in 2009 by a consortium of                                               Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) is the financial free
                              banking and financial professionals based in Belgium.                                                zone in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in the UAE
                              Its members include banks, brokers, asset managers,                                                                                                                                                                                                                     Busan International Financial City (BIFC) Promotion
                                                                                                                              established in 2013 in order to promote the Emirate Casablanca
                                                                                                                                                                                     of          Finance City (CFC) is an African financial and
                                insurance companies, listed companies as well as                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Center is established to support general operations
                                                                                                                               Abu Dhabi as a global financial center, to develop the business hub located at the crossroad of continents.
                                       various legal and financial advisers.                                                                                                                                                                                                                         necessary in establishing financial organizations, and
                                                                                                                                 economy of the Emirate and make it an attractive Recognized as the leading financial center in Africa, and
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     create strategies for cultivating Busan into a financial
                             Its mission is to provide its members with a forum for                                           environment for financial investments and an effective  partner of the largest financial centers, CFC has built a
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               hub.
                            discussion, knowledge sharing, and network building. It                                              contributor to the international financial services strong and thriving community of members across four
                               tries to be a link between the various professional                                                                    industry.                          major categories: financial companies, regional                                                             The conditions necessary for developing Busan into a
                               associations grouping banks, insurance companies,                                                                                                      headquarters of multinationals, service providers and                                                            financial hub will be realized, along with general
                                                                                                                                   ADGM's three independent authorities – the
                             asset managers in order to strengthen the role of the                                                                                                                            holdings.                                                                              operations including research of financial industries,
                                                                                                                                   Registration Authority, the Financial Services
                               Belgian financial community. The BFC organizes by-
                                monthly conferences on current financial topics.
                                                                                                                                                         BRUSSELS
                                                                                                                             Regulatory Authority (FSRA) and ADGM Courts – ensure    CFC offers its members an attractive value proposition                                                             infrastructure establishment of financial cities,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     cultivation of financial manpower, and promotion of
                                                                                                                                                                           operates inand a premium "Doing Business" support that fosters
                                                  ABU DHABI                                                                   that ADGM business-friendly
                                                                                                                                            B E L G I Uenvironment
                                                                                                                                                               M
                                                                                                                             line with international best practice that are recognized     the deployment of their activities in Africa.                BUSAN                                                         CASABLANCA
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         financial cities.
n Finance                                                   U . A . E .
                                                                                                                                                                                 16

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Hong Kong FSDC
                                                                                                                                                             TheCityUK
                                                                                                                                   by major financial centers across the world.                 S O U T H K O R E A
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    15
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           M O R O C C O
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    18
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         17

nancial center initiative                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           Luxembou
ding financial center in                                                                                                                                                                                                                        The Hong Kong SAR Government established
                                                                                                                              TheCityUK is the industry-led body representing UK-
 he initiative has more                                                                                                      based financial and related professional services. In the                                                    the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC) in
 e State of Hesse, the                                                                                                        UK, across Europe and globally, we promote policies                                                          2013 as a high-level, cross-sectoral advisory body to                                                                                               Luxembourg for Finan
born, and dozens of                                                                                                           that drive competitiveness, support job creation and                                                            engage the industry in formulating proposals to                                                                                                  Development of the F
 finance sector.                                                                                                                       ensure long-term economic growth.                                                                     promote the further development of Hong Kong's                                                                                                       private partnership
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         financial services industry and to map out the strategic                                                                                              Government and the L
d engagement, they all                                                                                                             The industry contributes 10% of the UK's total
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         direction for development.                                                                                                             Federation (PROFIL), b
 nship to Frankfurt and                                                                                                       economic output and employs 2.3 million people, with
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The FSDC has been incorporated as a company limited                                                                                                             financial ind
 ongst the top national                                                                                                      two thirds of these jobs outside London. It is the largest
 nters. Frankfurt Main                                                                                                        tax payer, the biggest exporting industry and generates                                                    by guarantee with effect from September 2018 to allow                                                                                                       Founded in 2008, i
 ce of its members to                                                                                                           a trade surplus greater than all other net exporting                                                       it to better discharge its functions through research,                                                                                                 Luxembourg's financ
e Frankfurt and provide                FRANKFURT AM MAIN                                                                                        industries combined.
                                                                                                                                                      HONG KONG                                                                                         LONDON
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            market promotion and human capital development
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            with more flexibility.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              markets and identify ne
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   connects internation
e platforms.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                U N I T E D         K I N G D O M
                                                     G E R M A N Y                                                                                                 C H I N A                                                                                                              22
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                financial services prov

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          LUXEMBOURG CITY                                                                     asset management and
                                                                                                                        20
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                21
                                                                                                                                 Von Base64 - Eigenes Werk, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4235760
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  insurance, capital ma
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            CMA Oman                                         L U X E M B O U R G                                                                            Paris     s
                                                                                                                                             Astana International
national                                                                                                                                       Financial Centre
enter                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     The Capital Market Authority (CMA) of Oman is the sole
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           regulator and supervisor of the capital and insurance
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           markets. It was established in 1998 vide Royal Decree                                                                                                 Paris EUROPLACE is
                                                                                                                               Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) is a new                                                                                                                                                                                                               promoting and de
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            No. 80/98. The CMA's strategy revolves around the
 l Center (MIFC) is an                                                                                                           financial hub for Central Asia, the Caucasus, the
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             evolutional and dynamic nature of the sectors it                                                                                                                    m
effort by the business,                                                                                                         Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), the Middle East,
                                                                                                                                        West China, Mongolia and Europe.                                                                                        supervises.                                                                                                                      As a privileged interm
an society in general.
tion effort, affecting                                                                                                       AIFC supports Kazakhstan’s policy of modernization and                                                       The CMA has the vision that the Capital and Insurance                                                                                               French authorities, wit
 from financial markets                                                                                                          growth; making the business environment more                                                                 markets will become an engine for sustainable                                                                                                    and constructive dialo
nce and healthcare.                                                                                                           friendly, attracting capital to accelerate development                                                        economic growth and wealth creation. In order to                                                                                                    proposals for the coll
                                                                                                                                and providing companies with the most advanced,                                                            achieve this vision the CMA will continue to develop
 al crisis of 2008 sent a
n economy lacks
s in dire need of a
                                                                                                                                                                  MUSCAT
                                                                                                                                  secure and effective investment instruments.
                                                                                                                              The AIFC operates within a special legal regime based
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          and promote informed, efficient and effective markets
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             and participation.                                                  PARIS
a professional financial
                                                                                                                                                   O M ALaw.
                                                                                                                                               on Common       N                                                                                     NUR-SULTAN                                      25
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          F R A N C E
 high-tech, world-class
 rket in Russia.                                    MOSCOW                                                                                                                                                                                         K A Z A K H S T A N
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           26
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               FinC
                                                       R U S S I A
uritius                                                                                                            24
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Qatar Financial Centre
                                               Deensel [CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)]

 Mauritius
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               FinCity.Tokyo was foun
Board is the apex body                                                                                                                                                                                                                    The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC), one of the world's                                                                                                   Government in conj
 e Prime Minister’s Office                                                                                                                                                                                                                   leading and fastest growing onshore business and                                                                                                     including major fina
te and develop Mauritius                                                                                                                                                                                                                   financial centers, endeavors to promote Qatar as an                                                                                                promote and to contin
 entre. The vision of the                                                                                                                                                                                                                attractive business & investment destination and lies in                                                                                                                    e
e high-income economy                                                                                                                                                                                                                             the cross-road between East and West.
nd every citizen through                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        With the aim of boo
                                                                                                                                                                                        Qatar is ranked as one of the top economies in                                                                                                                                                        capital's financial mark
 ion.                                                                                                                                                                               competitiveness, communications and innovation, and                                                                                                                                                          as a top-class globa
                                                                                                                                                                                    boasts one of the strongest and most dynamic markets                                                                                                                                                            conducts promo
 ial Centre
                                                                                                                                                                                          in the MENA region. The QFC offers its own                                                                                                                                                           disseminating knowle
 l services sector, and its                                                                                                                                                             international legal, regulatory, tax and business
estments in emerging
ed a strong reputation as
                                                                                                                                                                                     environment governed by English common law, which                                                                                          TOKYO                                                         networking domestical
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   overseas financia
Centre of choice. The                                                                                                                                                 DOHA
                                                                                                                                                         World Alliance of International  allowsFinancial
                                                                                                                                                                                                 up to 100% foreign   ownership,
                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Centers          100%
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                (WAIFC)
                                                                                                                                                                                    repatriation of profits, and 10% corporate tax on locally
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               J A P A N
1st in Africa in numerous
nternational
 gnised worldwide as one
                                                  PORT LOUIS                                                                                             International
                                                                                                                                                            Q A T A R non-profit association R.P.M.      sourced profits.
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                19
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              Kakidai [CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]

  y to do business.                             M A U R I T I U S
                                                                                                                   28
                                                                                                                                                         Brussels Enterprise number 719 719 907
                                                                                                                                                         Boulevard Louis Schmidt 117/9, 1040 Etterbeek,
 FI) is a public-private                                                                                                                                 Brussels, Belgium
 gest financial services
  and is the lead voice                                                                                                                                  http://www.waifc.finance
f the Toronto Financial                                                                                                                                  @WAIFC_
e of Canada's financial
or.                                                                                                                                                      info@waifc.finance
 ancial sector working                                                                                                                                   www.linkedin.com/company/waifc
atives which drive the
he industry. TFI's work
ncial services firms                                                                                                                                     Publication date: April 22, 2020
e Toronto Financial
nancial community,
ademia.
                                                      TORONTO
                                                        C A N A D A
                                                                                                                        30
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