UK
I am a continental European by birth, but I’m currently working for a major investment fund in the UAE. Until a couple of years ago, I was working in an investment bank in London, but I got the chance to move into private equity when the market was in a bad shape and moved here. It was a good choice, but now I’m looking to move on again.
I feel like I’ve got two options: London, or Hong Kong.
London is like my second home. I’ve got friends there and family there. I did my MBA in London. I’ve lived there and worked there, and it was the perfect place to develop my skills and make some money. It’s always been one of the few places in Europe where you have a chance, despite your nationality and background.
In a way, I’d like to go back to London. The roles there are challenging. It’s very developed in terms of private equity – the transactions and deals are top notch and the legal framework is well developed. By comparison, the UAE is like an emerging economy – the legal framework is less strong; the deals are less challenging. I want to be back in a leading financial centre.
Equally, however, the UK tax regime is a big challenge for people like me. If I go back to London, I’ll probably get a promotion. That will mean more money and more responsibility, but when I do the maths I’ll end up with less than I’m earning now. That’s annoying.
By comparison, Hong Kong is like the UK in terms of mentality. It was a British colony for years, the legal framework is pretty similar, and the tax rate is 15%. I also have a lot of friends there and I’ll get the chance to work in emerging markets like Indonesia.
Then there’s the attitude towards financial services. I go to Hong Kong every month and I’ve never seen anything adverse written about banking. It’s a commercial place: people are there to make money and work hard; no one really cares about anything else. In the UK and the US, by comparison, politicians are stoking popular resentment against bankers because they want to blame someone for what happened.
Much as I like the UK, it’s clear to me where I should be going next.
Do you speak Mandarin?
so what are you waiting for?
Does this article contains any information at all ? Please stay away from pure demagogy. Would help raising the level of this site.
Kuomintang, most of Hong Kong speaks Cantonese fyi….
?????? Hong Kong nous voila !!
@pmj24. FYI
It’s true that in HK most people speak cantonese but most of the business is focused on mainland China where people speak mandarin. If you do not speak mandarin you’re going to struggle to make your way into PE…
You don’t have any chance to find a good position these days if you don’t speak a local language (Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean or others). I agree you could cope woth your job only in English in some instances but iBanks are becoming very stringent to have experienced it recently
pmj24, i think Kuomintang knows more about China/HK/Taiwan than you do….
And Cantonese is pretty useless in banking
Under British rule, they weren’t much interested in English, either!
Hong Kong is not for you my friend. Without Mandarin your other skills means less than squat to anybody.
Kuomintang, no I don’t speak Mandarin.
HK Market in a nutshell:
General: market is smaller than London, and deal flow minimal compared to US, EU. Culture is important if you’re dealing with Chinese, and language is a must for most positions that require dealing with the Chinese mainland. I’ve been spending a big part of my time in HK for the past three years, and I’ve noticed the complexity of deals there is higher than, for example, in the middle east.
IB: for more junior positions they need mandarin speakers. For VP and above, I know people who are non-mandarin speakers and doing very well there. It’s all about having some specific industry expertise.
PE: very tough for non mandarin/non mainlanders. Investments are in small/mid cap, mainly growth capital. It is all about having the skills to understand if the company management is trustworthy, and you need to know the culture to have good judgement. IPOs are starting again now, but i doubt we will see what happened in 2007 when HFs were dominating the scene. Again: some industry expertise can help, but very very tough market to get in. I have started to perform screening on Chinese assets/companies. Information is limited, the market is extremely complex, and regulation and company track records are unclear. We might hire a Chinese to deal with this part of the world.
Trading: I think this is the only sector where language counts less. It is full of French. HK is the most advanced market for derivative products, thus product expertise goes beyond language.
So… to the commentators who are asking what I’m doing about working in Hong Kong. Well, I’m starting to talk to people…not easy, But I guess my expertise in the industry and connections I have will help.
In the meantime, I’ll keep my eyes opened in London. I’ll keep you posted.
this guy seems to be like a CEO.. he could move anywhere he wants (although he was stuck in Dubai, which is barely a financial hub) and he would also get a promotion if he moves.. and ofcourse having never worked in China, he is only toying with the idea of getting into a PE firm.. what a waste of space!! the reality is helluva lot darker.. I talk to hedge fund managers all the time and have loads of friends in PE in senior positions.. Ppl are just simply scared and everyone is hoping to ride this crisis over.. Hedgies are worried about regulations and redemptions…PE guys are worried about the lack of exit opportunities and these days AUM can disappear faster than that vauxhall in your rear view mirror.. Sit tight, keep your head down and hope u dont lose your job. And dont pay attention to these meaningless, nameless, faceless guests who are clearly sending the wrong message..
I hereby urge the moderator to never allow faceless “authors” like we see here to comment on issues where he/she has absoulely no idea about.
@jwkt05 and vick_2008 – this is an *opinion* article, The author is expressing his opinion about the situation rather than stating that this is how it is for everyone. As such, it’s intended as a talking point rather than a lesson on how to move to HK.
@TheAuthor: “We might hire a Chinese to deal with this part of the world.”
yes, this is the only safe way to engage in/with Asia: you _must_ have locals on the team. ideally with good guanxi.
Know many people like you, trying to escape reality by going to the last paradise (in their mind…) we very much live in a global world, so if I had to choose I would go to where the last bubble has bust rather than where it still has to …
However, I am 99% certain that this article is not genuine …
@Todd – the article is genuine, but the ‘guest’ is a non-English speaker, so we wrote it based on a long conversation with him.
Hi, I moved to HK last year and was lucky enough to be hired amongst the downturn. I must say that you are mistaken if you think HK’s culture is similar to that of the UK. It is not at all. I would agree with one of the last comments that if you are VP and above there is no real need for Canto speakers. I have actually found many clients on the long and hedgie sides like to speak to people with Western backgrounds. Regarding the culture, things are different here, business is not conducted in the same manner, customer service in all respects is at a low standard, anything western has a premium linked to it… etc etc. On the upside, I do tend to agree you should move to HK rather than London on a tax regime basis, but also that there are a wealth of opportunities here rather than in Euroland! Good Luck
HK competition is hard and working hours also. You don’t make a chance without speaking the local language.
Hey, as usual a lot of answers are meaningless, i guess the standard IB banker who believes to be a star and actually is a monkey (btw: go and fetch my comps)
Lived in Dubai, HK, London: every place has its opportunities. I would go whenever i can make money. Cultures are good in all those places, you will belong to the elite, so only 6 stars hotels, hot chicks, penthouses and Krug to swallow your beluga.
HK service is crap? come on…Dubai is the worst, and London follows.This is a fact. period. London food is the worst in the world, period. in HK you will find the brightest hard workers well educated financiers in the world (chinese i mean), it is always a pleasure to work with them. Always learnt a lot from those tigers. Looking forward to expand there soon.
People in this blog, in particular young bankers, have the bad attitude to talk without knowing what they are talking about. Again: go to work monkeys, tomorrow a master of the universe (like me) will kick you
My question is: How do you make it happen?
I think it’s a smart idea, and have been thinking the same for the past 6m. US citizen, worked in London for half my career, 10y in credit trading. I hear experience is key b/c the talent pool is not that big, and I’d think not too many people like me can just pull up stakes and go. But the business IS different, and western banks have struggled to make a goldmine out of it. How to find headhunters who can really deliver? I’m flexible, done a zillion different things, good track record – but does it mean anything to anybody in the HK market?
it’s not the colonial or modernisation days any more where banking was a western mystery, i see more and more asian VPs and MDs, as asians clearly tend to prefer working with other asians (just like how white clients prefer working with white bankers in britain or america), however clients, regulators etc do respect mandarin speaking westerners, which are increasingly rapidly
westerners really only dominate at the very very top nowadays
trading is an exception ofcourse
i think what’s interesting is the different mentality between older generation western expats, where they feel no need to learn the language and go there expecting to be a superior race, and the younger generation, where they take the time to learn the language, culture and are much more open minded about viewing locals as equals and the possibility of asia overtaking the west