As Asian countries attempt to deal with climbing commodities costs this year, banks in Singapore continue their search for commodities traders.

“Asia is asserting its place of importance on the ‘global commodities scales’, with Singapore remaining the preferred location to manage or launch this business, outside of China,” says Dominic Mound, consultant, Commodity Appointments.

Société Générale, Goldman Sachs, Citi, Macquarie and Standard Chartered made regional head and MD-level hires in Q3 and Q4, and they will be strong recruiters this year, says a commodities headhunter who asked not to be named. Deutsche Bank is also expanding its Singapore team.

With management roles largely in place, banks will focus on the next level down, says Greg Beszant, head of commodities, Selby Jennings. “They will all be keen to add talented executive directors, directors and VPs to their businesses,” he adds.

Which commodities professionals will be most sought after this year? “Bulks should stand out: iron ore, coal, and perhaps steel. The remaining major groups – oil/energy, metals and agricultures – will show moderate growth in line with the continued importance of the region and the price escalation of regional commodities like palm oil and rubber,” comments Mound.

LNG will also generate jobs in Singapore. “The construction of the LNG terminal, along with growing Asian gas consumption, signals a clear increased demand for talent in this space throughout 2011,” explains Beszant.

Physical commodities to the fore

Physical traders are no longer as unfashionable as they were in the early 2000s. The main talent shortage, says Mound, is for professionals who have a “thorough grounding in the physical side of the commodities businesses and a track record of delivering the ‘P’ in P&L.”

Beszant adds: “Banks are increasingly swooping for physical traders from large trading houses, many of whom move for significantly larger compensation packages. This is a trend on the rise globally as firms look to strengthen their physical commodities presence.”

But banks aren’t only being creative in physical commodities recruitment. “On several occasions recently we have been asked to fill vacancies for senior metals traders with candidates from an FX background. This is particularly prevalent for metals options mandates where a trader with a more technical background is required,” comments Beszant.

And what about hiring or relocating from overseas? Certainly there have been some high-profile moves. Late last year Barclays Capital, for example, moved London-based James Groves to Singapore to lead its Asian commodity team. However, migration from the US and UK because of banking-sector compensation reforms has generally been lower than expected. “The importing of talent hasn’t been seen as much as the poaching of talent already based in Asia,” says Beszant.