Is Mandarin required to recruit for BB IBDs in HK?
The title says it all. I don't really speak any Mandarin but am interested in opportunities at HK BB IBDs.
Do HK BB IBDs recruit students who do not speak Mandarin? I am fluent in another East Asian language if that is important at all though.
Here is the truth:
Short answer: You can apply but you will be in disadvantage in IBD. S&T doesn't matter
Long answer: IBD will require you to have mandarin / korean. Note that there are significantly lower amount of spots for korean speakers vs. mandarin so if you speak korean it will be an uphill battle. If you speak either of two, you will get translation test for Citi I think. Your work will require you to translate as well, so take note of that. Edit: They might recruit for other SEA/East Asian languages but just in general you will be disadvantaged compared to mandarin speakers.
S&T it doesn't matter whether you speak mandarin, korean, japanese, etc. Just speak good english and you are good to go.
Just my 2 cents from recruiting previous cycle.
Thank you so much - that was super helpful. Also, I heard that networking is not really needed for HK IBDs but your GPA/school is much more important. Is this true?
Networking is not as paramount as NY but it helps to know an associate or a VP+. But it is not a strict requirement per se to get the job offer.
Schools preferably be a target school (Ivy league/Stern/etc) and tbh the more prestigious it is (HSW/Oxbridge) the better. For GPA, competitively I would say +3.7. Most of my peers from NYU who got the offer had +3.9 in general, but might be correlation not causation (High GPA = insane work ethic = very prepared)
Of course I know people who weren't target schools getting interviews, but during superday decision making it will be an uphill battle in general.
The information above is what I've found for IBD. I would assume S&T will be more lenient in terms of networking/school name/GPA.
Some banks: clearly says mandarin required
Some other banks: doesn't say that but test your mandarin skills during interviews
1/7 junior IBD jobs in HK doesn't require mandarin (optimistically)
Edit: different story if you speak another east asian language especially Korean, since lots of ibanks have a Korea team in HK that is larger than in Korea.
If “another East Asian language” is Japanese, then you should try out Tokyo opportunities if you are not absolutely fixed on HK.
If you don't speak Mandarin you will be most likely placed in SEA group. More and more deal flow plus focus in HK is on Mainland China - if SEA, I feel like most of the activity is moving to Singapore. So Mandarin is becoming more necessary for getting a banking job in HK.
Plus, you will be competing against local graduates who can speak English + Mandarin + Cantonese fluently, as well as "sea turtles" who studied at target schools abroad but speak English and Mandarin fluently. So it's an uphill battle.
Worked 5 years in HK as ana then asso in a European bank then a regional BB
European bank didn’t care as they covered the whole of Asiapac from Indonesia to Australia
Regional BB however was another story. I was literally the only person in the team other than the MD who had recruited me who couldn’t speak either Mandarin, Korean or another relevant language
There were still plenty of deals I could be involved in but also several DD trips in Mainland China and Taiwan where I was utterly useless and was sitting in meetings all day understanding nothing
May help who you approach. On the other hand if you apply for say a French bank you’ll be shocked as large majority of ppl are French, getting to 100% for management with the other Brit
HSBC is another story of course
For top BB banks, 95% of the first year analysts in HK speak Mandarin.
Our summer analysts just hit the desks these past 2 weeks and 100% of the summers I've met are fluent in Mandarin. I'm sure there are a few non-mandarin folks, but as you can see you will have an uphill battle if HK is your desired location.
I was asking other about this on here and just 2 days ago I spoke to a hedge fund portfolio manager in Hong Kong. He told me that there are maybe 10-15% of roles in Hong Kong which can be done entirely through English, including what he did. The rest require knowledge of Mandarin because that's who the Hong Kong market serves, the mainland. Knowledge of Cantonese is not required. So for IBD, you're going to be in a very difficult position to get in without mandarin.
Voluptas rerum quia nihil a vel nemo accusamus. Quisquam doloribus ut delectus quaerat. Porro quo deserunt corporis dicta ducimus delectus architecto. Alias pariatur autem asperiores dolor quaerat modi hic iste. Fuga est velit deleniti et est dolores maiores. Blanditiis qui officia consequatur magnam. Nesciunt delectus omnis minus animi.
Quae repellendus et maxime. Perferendis omnis incidunt minus et ut mollitia sequi. Sed nihil eos dolores natus beatae voluptas. Dolor quis ut qui quas repudiandae qui.
Omnis architecto et nesciunt quidem eos itaque. Facilis et optio esse optio. Distinctio ea laborum aspernatur praesentium.
Quam ad tenetur nemo suscipit aut ut labore est. Perspiciatis illo laboriosam nobis cupiditate. Officia facilis totam perspiciatis aut perspiciatis architecto dolorem. Earum architecto dicta et magnam et.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...