Investment Ops HK/ Singapore
I am coming to the end of a 6 month contract with a boutique fund manager in Sydney as investment ops associate. Small company, about 20 employees managing aud15bn. Had a great time, learnt a lot. Prior to here I worked for a large asset manager in Edinburgh back in the UK, similar role investment ops. Was there for 2 years. Money is great here, double what I was on back in Edinburgh. I started off in KPMG doing with audit but got sick of it after 18months. Im happy I have the experience with kpmg but no regrets about not finishing my contract. Anyway im looking to move to hong kong or Singapore to work in investment operations (I would be open to working anywhere in asia but I only speak English). Does anyone what what my job prospects are like? I have a finance degree from one of top univeristies in the uk also. Thanks for the help, all advice appreciated and any questions just ask.
Hong Kong is really tough at the moment due to the fact that a ton of shops are now requiring that you speak Mandarin to work with the burgeoning base of Mainland clients. I reached out to Deutsche Bank to work in S&T for this year and they just instituted a Mandarin test that native speakers fail quite often. If you can get into the satellite offices of some of the American shops, that may be your only way in. If you are a passport holder of a Commonwealth country, however, you stand a better chance than your American counterparts.
Singapore isn't really hiring expats for any industry right now. Last I checked, the Singaporean government was really keen on making sure more of its citizens had access to jobs (i.e. too many bloaks living there) so your options are next to non-existent.
All in all, I'd recommend that you actually take a look at staying in Sydney and seeing if you can get into some sort of AM/MF/IB and work in an ops role, and if they are multi-national, just request a transfer to Asia and you'll be surprised at what is possible. One of the biggest hurdles in working overseas is often the requirement of sponsorship. Being that HK was a colony until 20 years ago, they are still quite friendly to Aussie/UK applicants from many different schools.
Hi HKgnyC4,
Can I PM you for further questions regarding employment in HK?
For Singapore, I don't agree you. Sure the job market is down at the moment (especially for finance-related jobs). Furthermore it might "appear" that the government is "restricting" on foreigners and "making sure" more of its citizens had access to jobs, however SG is still very very very expats-friendly as far as I know from the actions of the government and companies hiring in the country.
Don't worry if you, topic starter only speak English as companies in SG mostly converse in English.
well just my 2 cents
Thanks for the response. As much as I like Sydney i am looking for somewhere a little more exotic and I think HK fits the bill. i think i might chance my arm and get in touch with a few recruiters over there. thanks for the advice. very helpful
Some of the friendliest recruiters I've contacted are HK-based. They're more than happy to help and are usually extremely responsive.
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