Techies: Asian banks would dearly love to hear from you
Much like other areas of financial services, recruitment in the banking technology sector is buoyant in Asia. Investment banks in Singapore and Hong Kong would welcome UK-based technologists with open arms, provided they're willing to accept a pay cut.
Standard Chartered's reported plans to hire 4,000 people in Asia is an example of the sort of pomp surrounding expansion plans in the region and, according to research by our Asian websites, a decent proportion of these hires are likely to be in IT. This also follows similar announcements of massive hiring sprees from the likes of JP Morgan and Citi.
Still, IT has also been an area where many investment banks have been recruiting heavily in the UK throughout 2010, so it's not as though techies here should necessarily be desperate for a move to more exotic locales. But the prospect of a new challenge is luring increasing numbers across.
"From a candidate's perspective, there are some very innovative projects kicking off in Asia, which is an exciting proposition for many UK-based technologists," says Alistair Singleton, managing director of IT recruiter 752 Solutions. "However, there is a still a significant salary differential - somewhat outweighed by the lower tax rates - and increasingly banks are unwilling to pay relocation costs because the region is so desirable currently. This is something of a stumbling block."
Specifically, there's been a greater focus on development bespoke front office systems as Asian banks move away from vendor technologies and an appetite for IT risk management projects, says Chris Mead, general manager of Hays in Singapore.
There's also a demand for niche vendor-led skills like Murex, Calypso and Fidessa, and a need for development skills around ION Connectivity, he says.
"The appetite for employing candidates with experience in Western markets is huge," he says. "The local market has been relatively scoured and approximately 60% of the candidates we place at present are from overseas."
Hong Kong seems the place to go if you want to earn a salary comparable with City rates (although the cost of living is sky high). A C++ developer with six years' experience can earn HK$800-1.2m (64.3-96.5k), according to a salary survey by recruiters Hudson in Asia, while in Singapore the same role pays S$100-150k (48-72.1k).
Similarly a programme manager with eight years' experience can earn HK$1m-2m (80.3-160.7k) in Hong Kong, or S$200-400k (96.1k-192.3k) in Singapore.
"Expatriate salaries and relocations are becoming rarer, though, and bonuses obviously have changed dramatically post-global financial crisis," says Mead.
