After beating the Johannesburg stock exchange in April 2016, the Casablanca Finance City (CFC) has now dethroned Abu Dhabi’s market thus becoming the MENA’s (Middle East and North Africa) second largest stock market. This was revealed in the Global Fiancial Centers Index (GFCI) released twice a year by British think tank Z/ Yen Group and the China Development Institute.

From April, the CFC has jumped three places in the ranking to the 30th position, worldwide. In the MENA region, the bourse now comes before Abu Dhabi’s stock market (32^nd in the world) and is behind Dubai’s (18^th worldwide).

In the past six months, the JSE has plummeted 8 places to become the world’s 59th stock market and second in Africa. The other African market listed in the global ranking is Mauritius’ market (79th). The archipelago’s stock market fell 7 places since April 2016.

The GFCI ranks stock markets based on competiveness using two main data sources. The first aggregates and integrates 103 competitiveness indices from organizations such as the World Bank, the World Economic Forum, UN and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), while the second combines assessments from international finance experts who respond to an integrated comparative questionnaire.

Worldwide, London (LES) comes first followed by the markets of New York, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Zurich and Washington.