Macau is ranked 23^rd on the 2011 Financial Secrecy Index, released earlier this month.

The territory has been assessed with 83 “secrecy points” out of a potential 100, which places it towards the top end of the secrecy scale, Macau Daily Times reported.

Switzerland was ranked number one as the most opaque jurisdiction in the world, while Hong Kong is listed fourth.

The 2011 Financial Secrecy Index focuses on 73 so-called “secrecy jurisdictions”.

The ranking uses a combination of each jurisdiction’s secrecy score, which measures 15 key indicators, and a scale weighting based on its share of the global market for offshore financial services. It is based on data available at the end of 2010.

This means that although Macau has more secrecy points than Switzerland (78), the city is behind the Alpine country in the overall ranking. While Macau accounts for less than 1 percent of the global market for offshore financial services, Switzerland’s share is a little over 6 percent.

Macau’s secrecy points score represents progress from the previous report, issued in 2009, when Macau had been assessed with 87 secrecy points. However, back then, the territory was ranked 29^th overall.

The document stresses the city “must still make major progress in offering satisfactory financial transparency.”

London-based Tax Justice Network, an independent organisation launched in the British Houses of Parliament in March 2003, organizes the Financial Secrecy Index.