It may have been hit by new redundancies this year (think Barclays, BNP Paribas and CIMB), but Hong Kong is still a better location than Singapore for most people seeking a revenue-generating finance job.
We’ve been through our jobs database for current openings in Singapore and Hong Kong in eight key front-office functions. We’ve then converted each function into a percentage of the total jobs available on our database in each city.
The chart below shows how Hong Kong (in green) compares to Singapore (in blue) for jobs with a front-office focus – the higher the percentage, the more vacancies there are in that field.
Hong Kong dominates Singapore by the widest margin in asset management, reflective of a buoyant local job market in the sector. “Roles in asset management will be in demand in 2016 as more mainland capital flows into the Hong Kong market. Fixed income, in particular, is showing positive developments driven by offshore RMB activities,” says Jane Li, principal consultant, banking and financial services, at recruiters Randstad in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong pips Singapore for investment banking vacancies – although this year an increasing number of these openings are expected to be at Chinese banks, who are capturing a biggest share of Asian deals. “Hong Kong has been benefiting from its proximity to China as the majority of M&A transactions have gone from cross-border to China-focused,” says Li. “This trend will continue in 2016, so candidates experienced in managing deals in China are in high demand.”
In capital markets Hong Kong currently has twice number of the vacancies as Singapore, but the jobs outlook for 2016 isn’t great. “There hasn’t been a lot of recruitment in ECM and DCM recently. The uncertain economic outlook and the stock market valuation correction in China are expected to lead to a falloff in capital markets hiring,” says John Mullally, director of financial services at recruitment agency Robert Walters in Hong Kong.
Both markets are strong in private banking – but Hong Kong’s narrow lead in vacancies may not last all year. Private banks are expected to add most of their new headcount in Singapore, while vacancies in Hong Kong will often open up because of candidates moving banks to take advantage of a talent-short market, says Nick Lambe, group managing director at recruitment company Links International in Hong Kong.
The comparatively high percentages for corporate banking jobs in both cities (Hong Kong is ahead by 1%) indicates that banks are still hiring relationship managers to service local and regional companies. By contrast, trading roles are thin on the ground – several global banks have cut equities trading jobs in Asia over the past 12 months.
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