DUBLIN HAS jumped nine positions to 13th in a new survey ranking the world's leading financial centres. Simon Carswell, Finance Correspondent, reports.

London tops the list, but Dublin has been moving closer to the top 10 over the last year. Dublin was ranked 15th last September, up from 22nd place in March of last year, according to the Global Financial Services Index commissioned by the City of London Corporation, the local authority of the British capital's financial centre.

Dublin ranks ahead of financial centres such as Paris (14th), Dubai (24th) and Shanghai (31st) in the current survey, which questioned more than 1,200 financial services professionals, and has leapfrogged over Paris and Toronto since the last index in September.

Asset managers surveyed listed Dublin 10th in their top global financial centres, immediately behind Edinburgh and Frankfurt. Insurance executives list Dublin in seventh position, immediately behind Singapore and Tokyo. Both groups listed London and New York as their top two centres. Dublin was the 12th most expensive city for office space.

One professional said: "Dublin is excellent - good reputation and very pragmatic regulation, genuinely keen to encourage business. It also has a good tax environment. Over time, it's become expensive, but good staff can be found."

Irish Banking Federation chief executive Pat Farrell said there was an opportunity for Ireland as the only English-speaking country in the euro area to attract the sovereign wealth funds and private equity firms of oil rich and Asian countries that are investing heavily in the Europe and the US. He said Ireland's tax and regulatory regimes, and its skilled staff could help lure foreign investors.

"It's an opportunity for the IFSC to reinvent itself. It has had a very successful first 20 years, but it needs to think about the next 20 years."