As expat bankers return, Hong Kong hiring could surge
Expat bankers could return to Hong Kong next year as hopes rise that China will re-open its borders.
China’s zero covid policy prompted an exodus of talent at the start of the year, and a number of international banks have moved staff to other locations.
Many senior investment bankers also moved out on a temporary basis, either for family reasons or so that they could travel to see clients and colleagues.
There are now signs that the tide is turning and bankers are eyeing a return to Hong Kong. “Bankers who temporarily relocated are keen to return to Hong Kong. In particular, private bankers focused on China want to get back in front of clients,” said Rouella Landicho, director of banking & financial services at Randstad in Hong Kong.
Hong Kong is continuing to relax its restrictions while hopes are rising that China will abandon its zero Covid policy and re-open its borders. That should lead to a revival in hiring after a number of banks cut staff from their mainland investment banking operations this year.
Credit Suisse, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are among the firms that have cut headcount in China investment banking after an aggressive expansion.
Landicho added: “Once China starts opening up, banks will start recruiting there again in force. We expect that to resume in the second half of 2023.”
China’s zero Covid policy has prompted a number of US banks to move talent to Singapore. They have moved fixed income trading desks along with middle and back office functions to the city-State.
This year, at least a dozen Hong Kong bankers at Société Générale relocated to Singapore after the French bank Soc Gen officially designated its Singapore office as the back-up location for its Asia headquarters in Hong Kong, the centre of its regional operations since 1977, said one of the people. The bank was then able to declare a business “emergency” after Hong Kong intensified its pandemic measures and temporarily move workers to ensure “continuity”.
The fourth quarter is a quiet period for recruitment as banks prepare to pay bonuses. But Landicho, says some banks are hiring to replace talent that has left. “The big exodus to Singapore was at the beginning of the year, and it’s slowed down since then.”
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