The recent 2015 Global Regulatory Outlook survey showed that majority of finance professionals believe Shanghai in China will become the leading emerging financial center by 2019 especially now that the center of gravity of finance is shifting to China.

The survey of almost 300 finance professionals, including bankers and asset managers, around the world also showed that the Chinese cities of Shanghai and Shenzen are well positioned to overtake Hong Kong as the leading financial center in Asia.

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The survey was conducted by Kinetic Partners, a global financial services advisory group that has presence in London, Dublin, New York, the Cayman Islands, Switzerland, Hong Kong, Luxembourg and the Channel Islands.

Around 53 percent of the 283 respondents believed that Shanghai will become the leading emerging financial center five years from now based on the different reforms and financial programs that the city have been implementing.

Last year, only 45 percent of respondents in the survey expressed confidence in Shanghai's capability to become a financial center.

The survey report, which was published on Monday, also revealed that New York is still the world's most important financial center, with 59 percent of respondents picking the city for the top spot. Only 38 percent picked London.

New York's reputation as the most important financial center in the world rose from last year's survey, where 49 percent of respondents chose the city over London, which topped the list for years.

In 2012, 65 percent of respondents picked London as the leading financial center while  31 percent chose New York.

"This shift from just two years ago is a testament to the resilience of the New York market," said Julian Korek, chief executive officer of London-based Kinetic. "New York has proven that it can draw and maintain institutions that believe it is the best place to grow their businesses."

TagsShanghai Financial Center