Equity capital markets (ECM) has been one of the best places to work in Hong Kong banking over the past 12 months. Hong Kong claimed a 15.7% market share of global initial public offering (IPO) funds in the year to end-November, more than any other market, with listings in the territory raising a total of US$31.2bn, according to Dealogic data.
That’s more than the US$29.7bn raised for the whole of 2014. And that’s certainly meant ECM bankers enjoyed a better year than their colleagues in equities sales, trading and research, whose sector suffered from savage job cuts throughout 2015.
But some analyst now expect this year to be far more challenging if you work in Hong Kong ECM. Hong Kong is expected to lose IPO market share to China, which lifted a five-month long listings freeze in November and is now introducing a “registration-based” IPO system that is tipped to “add fuel” to its market at the expense of Hong Kong, reports the South China Morning Post. Moreover, new Hong Kong listing rules which ban cash companies from listing will discourage mainland firms from seeking “back-door listings” in the city.
“The mainland’s primary securities market is likely to outperform Hong Kong’s in 2016,” Ringo Choi, the Asia-Pacific IPO leader of Ernst & Young, told the SCMP. “The new board in Shanghai, which targets Internet and other high-tech companies, may divert some IPO deals from Hong Kong’s Growth Enterprise Market.”
EY estimates that new listings in Hong Kong will fall to 110 this year from 121 in 2015. While this potentially weaker pipeline may not lead to many job cuts – ECM teams in Hong Kong are already lean – it does mean that banks are unlikely to increase their headcounts in ECM this bonus season.
Meanwhile:
Redundancies coming in Chinese fintech? (Finance Asia)
It’s a good time to work in infrastructure finance in Singapore. (Business Times)
Where have all Hong Kong’s chairmen gone? (South China Morning Post)
Singapore finance professional gives up job to become “social entrepreneur”. (Straits Times)
Apply for a job without a resume. (Wall Street Journal)
Banks weigh up costs of keeping staff in London. (Financial Times)
Former Morgan Stanley Chairman Robert HB Baldwin dies at 95. (Wall Street Journal)
The one job Singaporean kids really want to do when they grow up. (Asia One)
Bosses at Korea’s NPS need performance-driven contracts. (Asian Investor)
Related articles:
Six front-office banking jobs in Asia that you can get before Chinese New YearIf you are looking to steal a march on rival candidates by applying for a banking job in January, you have a few options in Hong Kong and Singapore.
11 key trends that will shape Hong Kong banking jobs in 2016We’ve identified some of the top Hong Kong banking jobs and career trends for 2016.
10 things you need to know about Singapore banking jobs in 2016Here’s what finance recruiters say will be the key career trends and hot banking jobs in Singapore next year.
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