With the Chinese stock rout, the devaluation of the yuan and the slowing of the Singaporean economy, you would assume that now isn’t a great time to push for a big pay rise when you move employers in Asia. New statistics suggest you would be wrong.
In the Asian finance sector the long-term trend in vacancy numbers continues to outpace the growth of people seeking new employment, according to the Q2 Asia Pacific Employment Monitor from recruiters Morgan McKinley.
Job vacancies rose by 18% year-on-year in Q2 2015 compared to Q2 2014 – from 13,576 to 16,052. But the regional candidate pool fell by 2% over the same period. In other words, the job market in financial services in Asia is still tight and plagued by skill shortages.
This also suggests that you shouldn’t be shy about asking for a significant pay rise – 15% or more – when negotiating with a new bank. Our own research, carried out in Q2, shows that compliance, anti-money laundering and private banking are among the top job functions to work in if you want a heavy salary hike. The new Morgan McKinley also indicates that these three sectors are suffering from the most severe talent shortages.
Meanwhile:
Investors test limits of weak Chinese yuan. (Wall Street Journal)
Hong Kong Exchanges profit surges, but falls short of market expectations. (South China Morning Post)
Singaporean banks can absorb increasing risks, says S&P report. (Business Times)
Profits of Chinese brokers hit by market plunge. (Finance Asia)
ANZ sets up a tech panel to teach the board about IT disruption. (Sydney Morning Herald)
Olam chairman R Jayachandran to retire in October. (Straits Times)
Goldman Sachs wants to sell you its secret mojo. (Fortune)
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11 banking jobs where you can still land a large salary rise in Hong Kong and SingaporeWhile large pay rises are rare in the current job market, there are notable expectations.
The most desirable finance jobs in Singapore and Hong Kong nowThe amount of candidates clamouring to work in these finance job sectors makes them the most competitive to find work in regionally.