The latest edition of the Global Financial Centres Index unveiled on Tuesday ranks Hong Kong third among 121 financial centres.

The SAR has moved up one spot since the last edition in March and ranks first in the Asia-Pacific region.

"The report clearly affirms Hong Kong's status and strengths as a leading global financial centre," a government spokesman said in a statement.

"Hong Kong's scores were rated among the top in various areas of competitiveness, including 'business environment', 'human capital', 'infrastructure', and 'reputational and general'. Hong Kong's rankings in various financial industry sectors also rose significantly, including 'investment management', 'insurance', 'banking' and 'professional services'.

"Among them, the ranking in 'investment management' advanced to first globally. In addition, the report assessed the financial centres' fintech offerings, and Hong Kong's ranking rose five places to ninth, making it among the top 10 fintech hubs."

The spokesman added that more than 550 applications have been made under the New Capital Investment Entrant Scheme since it launched in March and investments of over HK$16.5 billion in total are expected.