Have you or do you know of anyone who's worked in IBs/financial services @ Hong Kong? (1 Viewer)

[dexst8r]

I wanted to know if there are lots of job opportunities there...is the pay more than the US and Australia? And what do they speak more, English,Canto or Mando?

 

[sf_diegoxrock]

I have a lot of relatives working in Hong Kong financial services

There's serious cash to be made there because of the flat tax rate

Would be an awesome environment to work in but definitely wouldn't want to live there in the long-term

Also, you need to be fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and English. In recent times, even Vietnamese comes in handy because of how close it borders along China/Hong Kong.

 

[haiderr]

iv got a friend whos a quantitative analyst in hong kong. he earns big bucks, and says theres heaps of scope there for financial services, and if youve graduated from an australian (renowned) university with good marks then u shudnt hav trouble finding a highly paid job!


wat have/are you/are planning to study? hav you got any experience?

 

[Omnidragon]

I have a lot of relatives working in Hong Kong financial services

There's serious cash to be made there because of the flat tax rate

Would be an awesome environment to work in but definitely wouldn't want to live there in the long-term

Also, you need to be fluent in Mandarin, Cantonese and English. In recent times, even Vietnamese comes in handy because of how close it borders along China/Hong Kong.

Not really. English will get you half the jobs. Mandarin and English will get you all the jobs. There's absolutely no demand for Cantonese, let alone Vietnamnese

 

[dexst8r]

Not really. English will get you half the jobs. Mandarin and English will get you all the jobs. There's absolutely no demand for Cantonese, let alone Vietnamnese

Mandarin in hong kong? n i thought cantonese was spoken in 95% of hong kong.....

no demand for cantonese?

what do you need to study to be a quant besides maths?

and what work exp. do u need 2 have?

 

[Omnidragon]

Sure, Cantonese is spoken by 100% of people in Hong Kong and Macau. It's important if your target are these people - this usually means you're operating locally. Even in Shenzhen, it's important to speak Cantonese if your job is selling fake LVs or giving massage to customers - since your biggest consumers are Hong Kong Citizens.

But we're talking about investment banks here, right? Any Hong Kong corporation you deal with is going to know English. Which is why for the past 30 years, all your MDs and Heads based in Hong Kong are westerners and not Chinese. They never needed Cantonese to deal with Cheung Kong or Sun Hung Kai and never will.

What's changed is that investment banks now want to do business with mainland China companies like PetroChina. These companies don't speak English. Their Heads of M&A or CFO only speak Mandarin. Unlike Hong Kong corporate workers, mainland China corporate workers weren't educated in foreign institutions in America and they didn't need to be. They have been promoted internally from working as a mere engineer back in the 70s etc and as such never had the chance/exposure to learn English.

A good example would be to take a look at the Social Security Fund which is China's third largest sovereign wealth fund (which I can tell you has more cash than BHP and KKR combined). Take a look at these people's profiles. There's none of this Harvard or Yale rubbish. These are home-grown people who have went through the political system (former Tianjin Mayor is now head of it). Unlike Donald Tsang (HK CEO), Dai Xiang Long (former Tianjin Mayor and Social Security Fund Chairman) doesn't speak any English.

Another example would be to look at Morgan Stanley's Private Equity arm based in Hong Kong. They hire - but their requirements are fluent Mandarin and English. Absolutely zilch need for Cantonese.

 

[3li]

hes right
ive been thru several final rounds at ibs in hk
firstly all the heads are lse
secondly i wasnt ever tested my canto, but i was tested on my mando jap and english.

 

[Newbie]

i just sat through a 5 hour conference call, my conclusion is you need mandarin and english

 

[sf_diegoxrock]

Mandarin in hong kong? n i thought cantonese was spoken in 95% of hong kong.....

no demand for cantonese?

what do you need to study to be a quant besides maths?

and what work exp. do u need 2 have?

Times have changed. You'll find that ALOT of the HK residents are speaking mandarin (however poorly) these days, even in the markets haha

 

[sf_diegoxrock]

i just sat through a 5 hour conference call, my conclusion is you need mandarin and english

Yes but it would be wise not to rule out Cantonese completely. Especially if you want to be based in Hong Kong, you will find a use for it.

As for the Vietnamese comment, businessmen from Vietnam are slowly creeping into the HK markets (very small, nearly insignificant - but may develop into something big in the future - who knows? though unlikely )

Anyway, focus on English and Mandarin but it doesn't hurt to know Cantonese.

 

[Omnidragon]

i just sat through a 5 hour conference call, my conclusion is you need mandarin and english

I sat through one a while ago too in Australia, and found we would've struggled without Mandarin hahaha.

In all honesty, learn Cantonese if you want to talk to locals. Otherwise forget it

 

[Newbie]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eD8N_izE0cg

 

[sf_diegoxrock]

I sat through one a while ago too in Australia, and found we would've struggled without Mandarin hahaha.

In all honesty, learn Cantonese if you want to talk to locals. Otherwise forget it

+1

it'd be wise if you plan on living there.

but you could get by without it, although some old school natives won't be too kind to you *sigh*

 

[MasterPUA]

There's none of this Harvard or Yale rubbish.

Whilst the 'target/non-target' mentality isn't the same in Asia, I have observed a huge chunk of interns coming from American Ivy schools + Oxbridge/LSE.

I liked the rest of your post though.

 

[Omnidragon]

I was talking about the head honchos of Chinese corporations.
I'd call a 50:50 split between top US/UK unis and top China ones for analysts. 90% only speak Mandarin/English. Same on Newbie's side?

 

[dexst8r]

I was talking about the head honchos of Chinese corporations.
I'd call a 50:50 split between top US/UK unis and top China ones for analysts. 90% only speak Mandarin/English. Same on Newbie's side?

lolls so no aus uni grads can make it?

 

[Omnidragon]

lolls so no aus uni grads can make it?

Well of course they can. I personally know a few - and I know Newbie...
Aus population = 0.0000001% of the world though so I didn't mention them

 

[3li]

yeap there are quite a few i know at top tier banks in hk and shanghai
u just hav to work there as an intern then u hav a betta chance

 

[MichaelJackson2]

i thought in asian countries you just had to buy your way into the top jobs and send the bosses lots of gifts.

 

[wrong_turn]

haha frick...maybe i should applied for an internship there....would have been good since i have citizenship there ahha