Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai score top three cities in latest report

The latest report by a think tank has revealed Beijing, Shenzhen and Shanghai are the top cities in China with the highest level of financial development, as well as support for innovation and entrepreneurship.

According to the Innovator and Entrepreneur Finance Index, which was published by the Shenzhen-based China Development Institute on Thursday, Beijing scored the highest rank of 77.18, which was then followed by Shenzhen, taking home 59.52, and Shanghai with 55.15.

Hangzhou and Guangzhou then ranked fourth and fifth, but lagged behind the first three cities, scoringonly 32.97 and 31.06 respectively.

Other cities in the top 10 list included Chengdu, Suzhou, Nanjing, Tianjin and Chongqing.

The index was compiled and published at a time when China's innovation and entrepreneurship was gaining momentum, as the country ramps up efforts to develop an innovation-driven economy. The aim of the index was to offer an insight into how financial innovation developed against the backdrop and give suggestions accordingly.

The results were based on 46 indicators across four aspects – the development of financial institutions, financial markets, financial services and financial ecology. A total of 31 Chinese cities were covered in the survey.

As Beijing ranked the highest score in all aspects, it was labeled as the most financially-developed city for innovation and entrepreneurship, according to the report.

Although Shenzhen has advantages in the development of financial markets and financial ecology, its financial services are not as favorable as Shanghai's and Hangzhou's.

"Development of financial environment for innovation and entrepreneurship shows three different levels, with the top three 'taking the lead', eight being 'outstanding' and the rest 'with the potential for development'," Zhang Xiang, a researcher from the Department of Finance and Modern Industries at the think tank, said.