Barangaroo: finance hub in the making?

SYDNEY’S BARANGAROO could become a financial services hub to rival similar sites in London, Shanghai and Singapore, according to NSW Treasurer Mike Baird.

Speaking at the annual Finsia conference in Sydney, Mr Baird said Barangaroo represented a physical opportunity to expand the Australian financial services centre.

Mr Baird envisaged Barangaroo alongside London’s Canary Wharf, Singapore’s Marina Bay and Shanghai’s International Commerce Centre.

The NSW treasurer has already asked the Australian Securities Exchange, currently located on Bridge Street in the Sydney CBD, to move its offices to Barangaroo.

“I think that would be a strong signal of the size of that space and the importance of that space to the financial sector,” said Mr Baird.

The growth of banks across Japan and the Asia Pacific, along with increased spending on infrastructure in Australia, means there is a bright future for financial services in NSW, he said.

NSW is also well positioned, given that financial services accounts for as much as 15 per cent of the state’s economy, said Mr Baird.

“This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for financial services to grow and expand in this state and in Sydney,” he said