Rotating to Foreign Office After 2 Years

From what I've read of the boards, it's pretty feasible to request a transfer to a HK (or London) office after spending 2 years as an analyst at a NY BB. Does anyone know if that applies to Public Finance analysts at NY BBs as well?

I know my BB probably doesn't have a PubFin operation in HK, cause why would it? But can I move to a different function like DCM, LevFin or CorpFin in HK (Even if I was set back a couple years)?

Otherwise, would B-School or HK funds that invest in U.S. Munis be a good way to make it to HK?

No knowledge of Mandarin/Canto by the way. And would need Visa sponsorship.

6 Comments
 

It's going to be tough, and on top of that you don't even speak Mandarin.

Public Finance has very less exit ops, its the only group that people try to get into since they are rejected from the other groups

 
Best Response

I am banking in HK right now and I can say this...without mandarin speaking ability you are DOA - dead on arrival.

This may have worked a couple of years ago but expats with no mandarin speaking skills are fast becoming an endangered species in HK. Even the ABCs (American-born Chinese) are being shut out of the analyst market (lateral or graduate hires) if they don't speak AND write mandarin. There's no place to hide...in some BB interviews I have seen they pull someone out of the China coverage team (made up of people who can write pitchbooks and IPO prospectus in Chinese, all mainland background) to grill you for half an hour speaking nothing but mandarin. They would even ask you to read and write out a couple of financial sentences in Chinese...

How the world have changed. For those who are fluent in Mandarin and are working on Wall Street right now...I have one word for you. Run. Don't walk. Run back to mainland if you don't want to miss out on the greatest IPO and DCM boom the world has ever known.

 

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