First came the listing now comes the hiring. Shares in China International Capital Corp (CICC) enjoyed a strong start following the firm’s market debut in Hong Kong yesterday. And the coming months could well see the firm trying to bolster its headcount.
There is precedent for this. The post-IPO headcount growth of other Chinese banks – in particular Haitong and Citic, which listed in 2012 and 2011 respectively – suggests that CICC will need to hire as it expands its business in the wake its cash injection. Almost all the funds raised via CICC’s IPO are fresh equity.
CICC has already hinted at which divisions may need more staff. The bank said yesterday that the new funds would go towards developing sales and trading, wealth management (including margin finance), and growing its international presence.
It may also need to recruit more investment bankers. CICC is tipped to try to win back some of the IBD market share it has lost to mainland rivals such as market leader Citic Securities. Although CICC won many high-profile IPO deals from Chinese state-owned enterprises in the early to mid-2000s, it then failed to make the same impact advising Chinese private companies.
Any bankers coming to CICC will be joining at an opportune time. China has announced a lifting of its five-month ban on new listings by the end of the year. “Investors think CICC may get some benefit in the mainland with the re-opening of the IPO market,” Ronald Wan, CEO of investment banking at Partners Capital International, told CNBC.
Meanwhile
The secret of UBS’s success in Asia. (Straits Times)
Australian banks have cut 1,475 jobs in six months. (Sydney Morning Herald)
ANZ’s outgoing chief executive Mike Smith’s total remuneration was A$10.8m in 2015. (Sydney Morning Herald)
How to make sure your job doesn’t disappear. (Straits Times)
The new dilemma facing HSBC. (The Times)
ICBC Credit Suisse appoints Laura Lui as head of index and quantitative investment. (PR News Wire)
Banking giants learn cost of preventing another Lehman moment. (Bloomberg)
MIT picks Hong Kong for its first innovation centre. (Wall Street Journal)
A look inside Singapore Airlines new A350. (Australian Business Traveller)
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