Technology jobs at banks in Singapore and Hong Kong aren’t quite as plentiful as they were five years ago when firms were still building out large global IT centres there. So if you’re perusing a fintech career in one of these cities now, you need to know which skills are still likely to land you a job.
We’ve compared the amount of Hong Kong and Singapore-based IT roles on our database to the number of local IT candidates across six key programming languages to produce the chart below. If you know the languages towards the left of the chart then your job search should be straight forward as you will face the least competition from other tech candidates. For every job requiring C#, for example, there are a mere 3.7 CVs on our database which have C# skills, suggesting that the language offers an easier route into a role than the five others do.
C#: 3.7 candidates per job in Singapore and Hong Kong
Banks now use C# on a large number of projects, in particular data simulations and modelling, and it is the most common programming language for IT roles based in Singapore or Hong Kong advertised on eFinancialCareers. “There’s now a rising demand for candidates who are skilful on C#, especially in investment banking to fulfil an ever increasing need for analytics,” says Richard Liu, a managing consultant at recruiters Ambition in Hong Kong.
Having C# on your resume also means facing less competition from rival candidates. “It can be hard to find true experts who are really confident with C#,” says Dean Stallard, regional director of recruiters Hays in Hong Kong.
HTML 5: 8.2 candidates per job
As financial institutions in Asia invest more in their online platforms, HTML 5 is the second-ranked skill in our chart. There’s an average of just 8.2 candidates for every role in Singapore and Hong Kong, although total job numbers are still below those of the more established programming languages used by banks. Recruiters tip demand for HTML 5 to increase over the next two years. “International banks in Asia increasingly require this web language for client-facing projects – sales portals, marketing campaigns – and because it’s a newer technology there’s less of a candidate pool, which is pushing up salaries,” says Stallard.
Vince Natteri, director of search firm Pinpoint Asia, says HTML 5 could eventually help stem the recent demand for C# skills. “Regarding the UI functionality of C# – Winforms earlier and WPF now – leading investment banks are exploring moving away from C# for web-technologies like HTML,” he says.
C++: 9.8 candidates per job
If you’re skilled in C++, the go-to language for high volume/high frequency trading, you still enjoy a large number of job openings and a moderate amount of competition (a ratio of 9.8) from other candidates in Singapore and Hong Kong. “C++ skills are still required by any firm that needs a strong back-end system to run quickly, accurately and efficiently, such as a trading system for a bank,” says Stallard from Hays.
“C++ is a much sought after skill-set,” adds Natteri. “This year in Asia we’re seeing a lot of requirements for low-latency developers and since the best-written C++ program is still faster than the best-written Java program, C++ is more in demand. There’s a particular shortage of C++ developers with knowledge of semaphores.”
Python: 13.1 candidates per job
Python sits mid-table, reflecting its up-and-coming status as a fast and easy-to-programme language for investment banks. Recruiters say that a talent shortage of Python programmers is gathering pace in Singapore and Hong Kong. “It’s now a very popular language for quantitative analysis and scripting. And there’s a lack of Python skills throughout Asia, so we’re seeing 15% to 35% salary increases for people moving employers,” says Liu from Ambition.
“It’s an open-source language that makes it easy to edit and localise code and programs that are shared globally,” adds Stallard. “There’s increased demand for Python in the banking sector in Asia since firms want to share and edit applications with their offices around the world.”
Java: 24.5 candidates per job
Java boast a high candidate-to-vacancy ratio largely because some Java-development jobs have recently been offshored away from Singapore and Hong Kong, leaving a glut of candidates still based locally. “Java remains a very important language, but with the move to offshoring, we’re now seeing a decreased demand,” says Liu.
Stallard from Hays adds: “There are still lots of candidates in Java simply for historical reasons as there used to be more of a need for it. It’s very versatile but not as efficient as C++ or other object-oriented programming languages. Banks with legacy systems still need Java candidates in high volumes.”
SQL: 35.9 candidates per job
The number of jobs in Singapore and Hong Kong requesting the database language SQL is high – nearly as sizable as Java – but the problem for candidates is that so many of their competitors also possess the skill.
Front-office development jobs often demand SQL alongside Java as part of a broad programming skill-set. “Most applications need a database for storage so it’s quite natural to see lots of candidates with SQL skills,” says Natteri from Pinpoint Asia. “With banks’ increasing emphasis on big data, SQL is still seen as a must-have for candidates in Hong Kong,” says Liu from Ambition.
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