Do you need Mandarin for Hong Kong ECM/DCM/S&T as well?
So I know that for Investment Banking and Equity Research in Hong Kong, fluent Mandarin is absolutely necessary. Does that extend to other divisions, however? Namely, what are the language requirements for:
1) ECM/DCM 2) Sales 3) Trading
Also, do the language requirements vary across different types of banks (in terms of BB vs. Boutique vs. Other Universal e.g. HSBC, SocGen)? And what are the language requirements for roles in Asset Management in Hong Kong?
One last thing – how about all of the above, but for Singapore?
I know it’s a ton of questions, so thanks for your patience!
I completed an internship at a NYC-based boutique institutional brokerage in Hong Kong- I'm from the US and have no experience with Mandarin. It was an equity sales trading role. Roughly half of the people at that firm were British/Australian and did NOT speak Mandarin. Many of the people I met from banks and other firms did not either. In Singapore and HK, English is the language of business.
Bump
S&T in Hong Kong (Originally Posted: 06/18/2010)
Hi All --
Quick question for you. For both fixed income and equities, do sales and trader need to know asian languages if they are working in Hong Kong? I want to do Fixed Income sales, am currently in NY, and want to go Hong Kong, do I need to know the language?
Thanks so much.
business in hk is conducted mainly in english.......
English's fine. But be prepared for a culture shock...
What's the pay like there ? Is there a housing stipend?
there is free housing stipend if your not a HK citizen and come from an american u (or foreign u)
I know that for sure. but that's like all expat packages really
mckinsey people working in dubai (or elsewhere) have the same set up...free housing as well as relocation.
business in Hk is done in english but most people hired can speak canto / mandarin. there are exceptions though...
are most analyst local hires or foreign/expat?
i would say they are mostly locals, but a huge chunk of them went to top universities overseas in US and UK, and went back to work after graduation...
if an american (born, raised, went to school in usa) wanted to get a S&T job with a BB in HK, is it possible to get a job or would they hire a local over him/her? assuming the american would be able to get the job, would he/she be paid differently than a local hire?
No, the pay would not be different if we are talking about BB. If u are looking for a S&T job in HK, be ready to fight against top candidates from UK/US.
Is this because asians doing their studies in the UK/US focus more on studies than their Westerners comrades (and thus get the best grades), or because the best students in the UK/US universities aim to work in HK and see this as an elitist path?
London, NY vs. HK, which would you choose?
I would say the ratio of US/UK to local (HKU, UST, CUHK) grads for BBs are around 7-15:1. Mostly good grades, grew up in Asia with language skills and then went to US/UK for High School/College. If no language skills, mostly relationship hires or with Asian experience (interned in China or something.
Most of my friends who work there speak a little chinese, even if they aren't asian. do people think S&T in hong kong is a better place to be for an analyst than new york?
it would be harder for you to get a S&T job in HK if you can't speak any chinese/cantonese coz you have to deal with chinese clients in HK and mostly are from mainland. . .
Mandarin necessary for HK? (Originally Posted: 09/16/2013)
What is the level of Mandarin necessary if I want to work in HK? Native level is required in IBD and no Mandarin is required in trading, but what about Asset Management?
Let's just say you would be at a massive disadvantage without fluency. This is especially true at the junior level where new hires are pretty much a commodity.
Let's just say you would be at a massive disadvantage without fluency. This is especially true at the junior level where new hires are pretty much a commodity.
None, HK is predominantly Cantonese and English speaking. Though if your clients are on the mainland you may need to know a little bit.
If you plan on being a portfolio manager or analyst, it's not completely necessary, but having a base understanding of Mandarin is a benefit to have. When you interact with companies you are interested in, their IRO's/management will be speaking English or there will be a professional translator on hand.
redacted
Working in HK without knowing Mandarin (Originally Posted: 10/28/2007)
To work in IB in HK, how important is Mandarin knowledge in:
1) hiring decision (obviously preferred but to what extent?) 2) ability to function on the job (is it usually irrelevant or is it a every day disadvantage?) 3) long-run career outlook in HK (do more senior people know mandarin and will one be overlooked for promotion due to language inability)
Also elaborate how your answer depends on different divisions in IB (i.e. would an ibd advisory role make language knowledge more important~ or does everyone including clients choose to always use english?)
i cannot say for sure how important it is, but I am that situation where I cannot speak mandarin fluently and seek a job in HK (I'm looking mainly for equity research, but I'd think IB may be very similar).
I've applied to a few of the bb's and many simply didn't respond to me (I'm not sure if they are simply uninterested b/c of my qualifications or b/c of my lack of mandarin... I have a 3.7 from Haas w/ a year of Big 4 audit experience & my CPA). The few places that did respond have all asked me if I can speak mandarin, and have basically told me I should try to get it better asap... No love from any companies yet, if that is any indication at all.
However, I did get a chance to speak with some people high up (head of ER, MD's in IB), and many don't know mandarin so it seemed to be the case that knowing it didn't matter that much (at least in the past). With so much business in China nowadays, it seems to be a strong preference.
Hope that helps.
You realize Cantonese is the official Chinese language in Hong Kong...
Mandarin is the official language throughout China, and HK is part China. CAntonese is the regional dialect. Most major international firms based in HK, if they have a language requirement, would require Mandarin. I have not heard of any Cantonese requirements ever.
You don't need to be fluent. But you need to be conversational. If you already have the basics, I can only suggest that you take some classes at night. You should pick up very quickly. Truth is it seems like you're not employed so maybe you could spend 2 months learning it.
I've said it before, HK BB's almost always seek high-level (think native speakers) mandarin. Why? Because they can. There are enough Chinese ex-pats coming back after a good education somewhere that fill these spots. 5 or 10 years ago, this wasn't the case and they largely imported mid-level talent. Yet, these days there is a steady flow.
Point is, you are fighting against a strong current. I'm not saying it won't/doesn't happen, but I'd try Singapore if I were you.
I agree with beaker. But if you really want HK (like I do), just keep trying and see if you can come up with something.
Btw,desecrato, I do realize Cantonese is the official language of HK (I'm fluent in that). You should realize a lot of the business being done in HK is now with the mainland and thus requires Mandarin (and simplified writing).
*pardon the use of language, I meant dialect.
Thanks for the in depth answers.
BEAKER: Why would you mention Singapore- I know that Mandarin is a very popular language there too, but is its use significantly less pervasive?
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