Hong Kong

Hi! Prospective IB monkey here. I just started my MBA studies at a M7 program, and wanted to ask for advice on how to break into HK IBD post-MBA. I'm a Korean native (don't speak or write any Chinese) and have 2 years of work experience at Big 4 TAS + 3 years in investment management. I got interested in HK IB after finding out that most large cap South Korea deals are handled out of HK offices. Over the last couple weeks, I've managed to speak with a lot of alumni who worked in NYC and SF offices. But I haven't had much luck in finding someone who works in HK. I asked for referrals, but so

07 Sep 2020

Hi. Hope everyone is doing well during these turbulent quarantine times. Just a little bit about me: I was born in the States but moved to China at three. Grew up there and came back to the States around the start of middle school. I speak fluent Mandarin with no accent and my Mandarin writing/reading ability is about the same as a Chinese middle/high schooler (can read WSJ Chinese with little to no difficulty). I also know how to speak (to a certain extent) the Henan regional dialect/accent, though I don't know how much of a role that'll play into all of this. I'm currently at a top target

28 Apr 2020

Hello, I am a MiM student (MSc in Management, also said Junior MBA, for the non-Europeans) and I have the opportunity to study abroad next year. I was wondering what could be seen better in the future: a semester abroad in top European universities (ESSEC, IE, St. Gallen, etc.) or a semester in Asian universities (SMU, Fudan, Chinese University of Hong Kong, etc.)?

13 Jan 2021

Figured there are a lot of monkeys in Hong Kong so reaching out for ideas: this fall I'm visiting a friend in HK. For those who've been, what are some recommendations for things to do/see/places to eat/etc.? I'm a big fan of obscure food and lots of drinking, but open to walking around and exploring during the day as well. My friend will be staying with his family, so what's a good neighborhood to get an airbnb in? Also, I'd be down if anyone is interested in getting a drink or if there's a WSO group that meets regularly like in some other cities.

25 Jun 2019

I am an international at a semi-target. A professor who helps with IB recruiting here said I will be better off considering either: - Masters in Finance right out of college to get a 3 year OPT extension - Try to recruit for foreign offices (London, HK) which may be more lenient with visas Which way should I prefer and what should I be considering? Are there any other options to increase my chances?

29 Dec 2020

Any US college students going to Hong Kong for SA 2021? Would be down to make a group chat and discuss housing etc.

22 Oct 2020

I'm a freshman at a Canadian target right now and my goal is to secure an IB position somewhere in Asia, preferably HK or JPN after I graduate. I don't know mandarin or cantonese but I'm currently learning japanese right now. Is there anything you did to differentiate yourself from other applicants in Asia when you applied? Perhaps doing an internship in HK?

13 Oct 2020

Hi there, Just got into MBA program and start to think about BB Summer Associate next year in Hong Kong (I'm a Mandarin native speaker). I talked with a couple of friends and alums and there are my two key findings so far. 1) BB Summer Associate recruiting in Hong Kong emphasizes pre-MBA background. Only candidates who have a "finance background" (Big 4, Investment Banking, Private Equity, etc.) can pass. 2) Target schools for BB Summer Associate are: M7+Tuck+Stern+LBS. Only kids from those schools could have a shot. Can any insider shed some more light on that? Thanks!

22 Feb 2018

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11 Apr 2017

Hi all, I am facing a problem and would really appreciate if anyone can help me out. I am a Chinese citizen studying at a non-target or semi-target (think non-ivy top 20) in the US. I just went through SA recruiting for APAC IBD internships. I got 4 super days but the results are pretty disappointing. I only secured an offer from Barclays and got waitlisted for the others. I am well aware that Barclays IBD is extremely weak in HK and really don't want to go there. However, it seems like it is the only option I have. I was wondering what do you guys think are the best strategies for me to focus

09 Dec 2016

I've been following league tables in Asia for a while, and it seems that they have become increasingly dominated by Chinese banks (not just CICC and Citic, but also places like GF Securities, Haitong securities). This has been true for ECM and DCM for a while, but it seems that in recent years this effect has been seeping into advisory/M&A as well. What does this mean for all the BBs in Asia? (we already know Barclays is out, DB probably likely to follow). The banking scene in Asia in general? What's the landscape going to be like 5-10 years down the road? Which banks/BBs are best positioned

19 Apr 2016

I am curious about roles of graduates from HKU , ie (PE, Front Desk, M&A etc) and whether it is easy for them to break into BB or boutiques compared to their western counterparts( Ivies, oxbridge, lse). My long term goal is to be a quant/algo-trader. I am fluent in cantonese, mandarin and english and I am an international student from SE Asia. Also, I have an offer to study at HKU with a full bursary. I am also offered placements at UCL, Edinburgh but I doubt i'll attend due to their high fees and the low ROR. So, please share some insights about the scene as I am just looking for an accurate

23 Mar 2018

What is the general ranking of BBs in HK, in terms of deal flow/prestige? I can read the league tables, and I know UBS performs really well in Asia, but which banks get the sexiest deals?

29 Oct 2015

I currently have multiple offers from BBs in Hong Kong (to preserve anonymity, I won't say which ones, but a few are considered here "top BBs"). I know the US reputations of the BBs, but are things the same/different in Asia (for example, is GS TMT still considered the best, followed by MS M&A)? None of the offers is group-specific, and my only considerations are reputation and exit opps to PE megafunds in Asia (KKR, Carlyle, Bain Cap, etc.). With that in mind, how would you rank the BBs in Asia?

30 Jan 2016

What are the best banks/groups in Hong Kong for recruiting for buyside positions in mainland/HK? Would also be interested in hearing where past analysts from the said banks/groups are headed.

19 Feb 2016

Hey guys, I was just wondering if anyone has any insights on the return rate of the BBs in Hong Kong for their IBD summer analyst program, relative to one another. In other words, which of the BBs have the highest return rate? which the lowest? Thanks!

28 Oct 2015

A friend has received offers from both places in Hong Kong, and there's no guarantee which group he will be placed into. Which to choose? His main considerations are: prestige/deal flow/exit opps, full time return rate. Thanks!

13 Dec 2015

I'm from the US but now in HK. Investment bank reputations on this side of the world are kind of throwing me off - would be nice to have a ballpark overview of banks here. For example, it was a shock that Barclays doesn't even feature in the league tables anymore (no doubt due to all the cuts and what-not), whereas it's still a really good BB in the US. For those of you over here or in the know, how do you guys see the rest of the bulge brackets? What are the strongest banks? Talking about mostly M&A, but IBD in general too. What about Boutiques? Would appreciate some input, thanks!

04 May 2015

Do the BBs in Hong Kong hire full time IBD analysts, or do they pretty much hire exclusively from their summer intern pool? Mainly interested in GS/MS/JPM.

29 Dec 2015

Hi All, I am wondering what you guys think of CICC IBD BJ office (their HQ) vis-a-vis second or third-tier BB IBD in Hong Kong (think of DB, Barclays, CS, etc). I know CICC is no.1 Chinese IB in terms of prestige, but heard they are not doing as well compared to they did ten years ago. Specifically, which place leads to better buy-side placement or B-school opps? Thank you.

24 Mar 2018

mod (Andy) note: "Blast from the past - Best of Eddie" If there's an old post from Eddie you'd like to see up again shoot me a message. Is the bloom off the Private Equity rose for today's MBA students? An interesting phenomenon is emerging among recent B-school grads that suggests Asia, and not Wall Street, is the premier destination for newly minted MBAs. Business Week explored the trend a couple months ago in this article. As the recent high-profile Asian IPOs would indicate, there is definitely opportunity to be found there. And the place did have a sort of Wild West energy to it the last

03 May 2014

Hi guys, Do you have any idea which deal news websites that bankers in Hong Kong usually refer to? I will be working as an IBD SA in HK, and I would like to grab an idea of what's going on as I have no previous work experience in HK. Appreciate your comments in advance. Thanks!

26 May 2016

Wondering a lot. Since a lot of the bankers I meet in Hong Kong are actually from the US and UK rather than local hires.

05 May 2014

Anyone know who takes home the biggest deals in Hong Kong?

10 Jun 2015

Hi guys, I received offers or waiting to hear back about superday results from the above places for the positions. A bit background about myself, I am a senior year student (but if I choose to do SA this summer, I have the option to do 1 more year of school and get master degree in computer science), I am into trading and quant strategies and want to go into HFs eventually. I see the master program as a buffer and I want to make the decision based on long term career development (as in I am ready to start FT this summer). I would greatly appreciate help on the following questions: 1. How to compare BAML S&T, Citi 2 year quant trading program (I also received offer from Citi last year but turned it down), Nomura S&T.

08 Mar 2015

Hey, so I recently joined the equity long/short team at a 1b Pan Asia hedge fund based in HK. I don't know many people here so I was curious whether they were other WSO-ers in Hong Kong so we could drinks or something along those lines. Let me know if anyone would be down.

17 Jul 2016

I'm a current freshman at Northwestern and am contemplating transferring to Cornell CAS. I know that Cornell places much better on Wall Street but I'm a dual HK-UK citizen (and knowing that OPT/H1B is much harder than before along with the mainland competition) so I'm more interested to know about how differently these two schools place into HK/Beijing/Shanghai or London. From my limited perspective I believe the alumni network in HK is much stronger for Cornell but I don't know how this works either. I don't find Northwestern too challenging (expecting to keep a 3.8ish GPA, or maybe .1 or .2

16 May 2015

*Disclaimer: Asking this on behalf of a friend* Hi WSO, I'm currently sitting on two Summer Analyst offers and I was hoping to get some input from you guys. Both of the offers' location are in Hong Kong- as it is where I'd like to work, so this is good news for me. The first offer is with a non bulge bracket big bank (think Wells Fargo, BNP...), where I would be working in S&T- specifically in the fixed income division. The second offer is an internship in the private investments arm of a major sovereign wealth fund.

10 Mar 2014

While there are bits and pieces of information on lifestyle and banking in Hong Kong, few threads have the full overview. Can someone please give the general overview of the career path in Hong Kong? I read somewhere that in HK, most IB analysts stay on as associates as compared to NY, where analysts move to PE or HF. Also, while most threads just say tax rate is "lower" because its 15%, few clarified that you have to pay US taxes too, except that you're exempt for the first 90k provided that you meet a few prerequisites. So can someone working in HK give the full picture of a career in Hong Kong? Topics that will be helpful: 1. Is compensation in PE really lower than that of IB in HK?

28 Aug 2011

I've had this debate with a couple of people who believe that working abroad is becoming a new way to get ahead in finance. Rapid globalization and the rise of emerging markets has made an international perspective more important now than ever. I'm seeing more and more people who have a few years work experience in the US choose to work internationally in order to diversify their skill set. Many times these people can receive promotions and more responsibility upon returning to the US, setting a foundation for a rapid rise to the top. Also, from an investing point of view, the slowdown in

12 May 2012

Hey! I was wondering if you guys could give me the pros and the cons of NYC, London and Honk Kong for IBD? Things like pay, culture, workload, nightlife, cost of living, food. I haven't seen any discussion comparing these cities in detail so if you could be as precise as possible it would be great! :)

08 Sep 2019

Hi! I am a french student in Finance (First year of master degree in a middle ranking Business school) and I just had an offer from Hong Kong University for the Mfin. I am really interested about job like PM or Trading. The deadline is close and impossible to find any feedback, people coming from this Master ... The point is, I would love jump from a mid french master degree in a better one and I am really considering HKU. I have a keen interest for asian markets and working in asia for a couple of years don't bother me. Is any of you have feedback of this master degree? Thank you!

05 Apr 2015

I've heard hong kong bank divisions want fluent mandarin speakers for just about everyone. But since Hong Kong is Asia's main office other than Japan, and I know Korean deals are originated out of Hong Kong, wouldn't they also want Korean speakers? Have you heard anyone who speaks just Korean and English and is working in Hong Kong? Would someone be limited in terms of exit opportunities for Asia if they only spoke Korean and English?

23 Feb 2012

Does anybody have experience and insights with this? Not really sure what to expect except for hardcore technicals etc. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!

06 Mar 2014

Hey guys, I recently booked a trip for post graduation this May. I'm going to be in Hong Kong for four days by myself. I know there is a HK presence on this board and I was wondering if anyone has any tips/advice on hostels to stay and things to do and see while I'm in the city for four days. I really appreciate the help.

18 Feb 2017

I have been through the SA recruiting process for BB's HK offices and had no luck landing an offer after few Superdays. As a result, I spent a lot of time reaching out to boutiques in HK and banks in China, and now I have landed an offer from a leading Chinese securities firm's IBD (not CICC) and an offer from a HK boutique.

06 Jun 2014

How important is it to know Mandarin in order to work in Hong Kong? I ask this as some one who speaks only english and french. Is still it worth me applying?

08 Nov 2010

Looks like banks in the region are starting to recruit for summer analyst positions. I was thinking that it would save all of us some time if we post any progress here. As far as I know, GS, MS, JPM and BarCap have given out first round invites. Anymore?

19 Dec 2010

Hi everybody, Since 2 years ago I have felt very attracted to project finance and IB in general. I took a class in project finance, and read some books, but I don't have an economics/finance background. I am currently a PhD candidate at a top university in China, and recently got a scholarship to go to HK PolyU on exchange for one year. I was planning to use that time to prepare the CFA and network and research about my opportunities to break into project finance, without coming from a finance background(I have a bachelors in architecture, master in construction engineering, and my current PhD is in management science at the school of civil engineering. Have lived in Spain, US, Japan and China).

12 Apr 2014

Hi all I just wanted to get some advice from people who work in IBD and in Asia in particular. (Sorry for the walls of text). After a few months of browsing these forums, reading books and talking to people in finance I have decided to take the plunge into finance and aim for an IBD internship at a BB firm in Singapore/HK/Shanghai for the end of next year. I am from Sydney, Australia and am a non-finance graduate. After I finished University I came to Beijing to study Chinese where I been for the past year. I feel I will be fluent in Chinese after one more year. Next year I will be studying a Masters of Commerce majoring in Finance and Accounting at the University of New South Wales in Sydney.

28 Nov 2010

I usually am on the Consulting forum given what I do, but have visited the bullpen a lot more off late (let's face it, lot more entertaining and I'm sick of responding to threads asking about how to best do case prep). One common theme emerging among people's comments is that Asian cities like HK and Singapore are decidedly lower tier places to start your career in the big leagues as an i-banker or a S&T person, etc. Now I know NY is the financial capital of the world, very busy, everyone's there, etc etc, but I find it amusing that Asia is (subtly, I might add) looked down upon when: 1) You make WAY more money thanks to the 10-12% tax rate and decent bonuses (neither of which exist in NY off late)

25 Apr 2012

Hey Guys, A bit about my background: I'm going to be a Junior next year at HYP, majoring in History with a 3.9 GPA. I've got a strong Math background as well with some Econ courses. I also did a short internship this summer with a real estate PE firm. I have pretty good Chinese, written and spoken, and would like to try and eventually work in Asia. My question is: I'm looking to find a summer 2011 internship in HK, and I am wondering what the best strategy is, i.e. timing of alumni networking, which firms to apply to, what the competition is like, etc etc. I'm a US citizen, so I'm also curious about Visa issues for working in HK. Any and all comments would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

12 Jul 2010

Before I begin, a tip of the cap to HappyPantsMcGee for providing the food for today's thought. As we, the United Socialists of America, stand here: two nations, under Government, with liberalism and justice for some...those crazy crazy capitalists in Hong Kong are finally taking steps toward our way of life. The Nanny State Goes Global !!! Read All About It As Hong Kong prepares to adopt the minimum wage law (without any economic rhyme or reason), I will quote some of the most telling excerpts from an article which demands close scrutiny from anyone with even a passing interest in global finance and economics.

13 Jan 2011

Below is a cut/paste from their role description: While in Analytics, you will specialize in one of the following market sectors: Fixed Income, Equities, or Foreign Exchange (FX) and/or Commodities and set the foundation for further career opportunities. Your career path may include, but is not limited to advanced specialties, leadership roles or positions within our Sales department. You will gain the opportunity to build relationships, support and sell the suite of market leading solutions we provide to our high-level clients. Enjoy the challenges and rewards of a career at Bloomberg. I've been failing to get a job in Hong Kong so far. If I apply for this Sales role is it possible to lateral to S&T at a BB later? I swear this isn't a troll post. Thanks

12 Apr 2011

Chances of getting into IBD in HK? Grew up in HK, HKID, all that, but Australian and Canadian recruiting seem to be non-existent for Hong Kong investment banks. I'm doing a LLB/Accounting double degree. I'm considering applying for more middle office/back office roles in HK. Thoughts?

29 May 2014

Recently one Bettina Wassener (IHT) wrote on in her article (Link 1) that Hong Kong is losing its edge as an International Finance Hub, and is potentially in danger in the long term unless the supply of office space increases. There are several flaws in this article and its citations, in that 1. Hong Kong is not in danger of in terms of its long-term prosperity because of a "lack of office space" and 2. that there is a lack of office space.If there were to be any imposing threats on Hong Kong's status, it would be the rapid emergence of the Chinese Markets and the rising influence of the RMB. The reasons are as follows:

13 Dec 2012

Hi Monkeys, Has anyone heard back from the BBs in Hong Kong for full-time 2013? 1st rounds, telephones, superdays? I would like your feedback regardless of what division you applied for. FYI, I applied to all the banks thru their online career websites, not on-campus recruiting/connections. This will give everyone aiming at HK to get a sense of where the banks are at for FT recruiting... or if it is too late already and people should start looking elsewhere. HK FT 2013 hasn't been covered on WSO yet, so I hope to compile statuses from everyone. Much appreciated! Goldman Sachs: 2nd Round Credit Suisse: ? Merrill Lynch: Under Review Barclays: ? Citi: ? Deutsche Bank: ? Morgan Stanley: No FT S&T/IBD postings online HSBC: 1st Round RBS: 1st Round UBS: Under Review

24 Oct 2012

Thought it would be nice to have a place to share info for those going to HK for FT in 2011! It would be great to talk about things like housing, comp, things to watch out for, etc etc!

26 Sep 2010

It sucks to realize that most IBDs in HK highly prefer US college graduates (targets) over top HK college graduates. I'm talking analyst/associate levels. Some analysts that I came to know of while networking told me some disturbing stories. JP Morgan has 0 analyst who graduated from colleges outside of US or UK at the moment. Goldman Sachs, nil. Morgan Stanley has only 1 who has graduated from HKU. Even at smaller banks like Société Générale, it's hard to find a single analyst in IBD who's not from a US target school. I wonder if things are similar in other Asian countries like Singapore, Korea? And yes, I'm Cantonese.

01 Nov 2010

hi, i worked in IBD, equity research and private equity in the last 4 years in london. im looking to go try my luck in hong kong/asia and need some advice regarding answering a question that is likely to come up in interviews over there either with recruiters or headhunters. a question likely to come up is something along the lines of.... "what is your competitive advantage, or what differentiates you or what makes you different compared to other candidates located here?"

14 Jul 2010