http://www.businesstimes.com.sg/sub/...91140,00.html?
Published February 23, 2011
London investment bankers pick S'pore as preferred job location
But the Republic is not expected to be among the biggest financial centres 10 years from now. By Genevieve Cua
SINGAPORE has topped a survey among investment bankers as the most favoured location for jobs, says Astbury Marsden, a financial services recruitment firm. It polled some 300 bankers in London across a range of expertise including corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions. It did not poll private bankers.
Some 27 per cent of respondents chose Singapore as their most favoured location; 22 per cent chose London; 20 per cent picked Hong Kong; 19 per cent chose New York and 13 per cent went for Dubai.
However, on the question of which financial centre is likely to be biggest in 10 years, Singapore was not among the top choices. About 46 per cent of the respondents chose Shanghai; 31 per cent chose Hong Kong; and 8 per cent picked London. Another 8 per cent decided on New York; and 8 per cent selected UAE.
The firm's chief operating officer, Mark Cameron, says: 'Results like this should be of real concern to more established banking centres such as London and New York. Singapore and Hong Kong are thriving economies without the growing swell of anti-banker bias. The UK's super tax and EU bonus proposals have played into the hands of low-tax jurisdictions.'
In 2009, the UK announced a 50 per cent levy on discretionary bank payouts in an effort to dampen bank bonuses that have provoked public ire. This was to be imposed on top of the marginal tax applied to individuals. Bankers had expressed concern that the tax would make London less competitive.
The EU has also toughened bonus rules, limiting cash payouts and forcing a deferral of cash and share bonuses.
Mr Cameron adds: 'While we obviously don't expect any bank to relocate its entire operation out of the UK, we are constantly fielding enquiries from talented bankers in London asking us to find them jobs in the Asia-Pacific region. This is partly due to the growth of those economies but anti-bank sentiment plays a definite role.
'With highly competitive tax rates and exciting career opportunities in South-east Asia, many believe London is losing its allure. Some of the more nimble hedge funds and trading desks have already left.'
Banking sources in Singapore say that there is no shortage of interest from European and US bankers in job prospects in Asia. Typically, banks seek to fill positions with internal transfers first before hiring from the market.
Says Deutsche Bank's head of human resources, Yeo Lai Mun: '(We are) keen on maintaining a global pool of talent within its offices in the region. In this regard, we provide employees across business lines with cross-border transfer opportunities as an ongoing career development proposition for staff.
'Given Singapore's proximity to the other growth markets in the region and that the supercycle of Asia continues, it is only natural that our bankers have expressed interest in relocating to Singapore to gain regional investment banking experience.'
About a quarter of Deutsche Bank's staff here are non-Singaporean.
In private banking, however, BT understands that there is a preference for bankers who have worked in Asia in the past and who have a strong network in the region. There may also be a preference for bankers who are ethnically Asian.
Mark O'Reilly, head of Astbury Marsden's Asia operations, says: 'For every job in Hong Kong or Singapore, we always have people interested; we have no difficulty in finding people for the roles here . . . Everyone is fully aware of the growth of Asian institutions and the career opportunities.'
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