Freshman at a target hoping for advices on which place should I apply IB to, Hong Kong or Singapore. Thanks.

Am currently a freshman at a target and really interested in the investment banking field, particularly M&A. Could any professionals provide me with some guidance as to which place is better to have an FT career in M&A? Many of my seniors mentioned that given the current landscape, Hong Kong is no longer an attractive choice and I should try to apply to Singapore as ASEAN is the next China. I am really confused as to what is the difference between doing investment banking in these 2 places and how are the exit opportunities looking like? Thank you.

4 Comments
 
  • there's no exciting m&a in apac. just check the deal volume and you will get it. apac banking is pretty much IPO all day long with insane labor requirement. These hours become even harder to deal with since the work you do is boring. If you are interested in complex deals (m&a, spinoff, spac, lbo, levfin etc), do you banking stint in the us.

  • singapore will not replcae hong kong simply because the majority of the largest and most exciting companies are from China and for them it's either HK or SH/SZ.

  • in terms of exit, more mega funds and strong local buyside players have apac offices in HK or mainland.

 

Agreed that HK has more established buyside players in APAC. But it's also worth pointing out that there has been a growing number of them opening offices in SG to target SEA/India opportunities.

In terms of IB experience, yes, US > APAC anyday.

 

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