A new survey puts Singapore ahead of Hong Kong as the preferred place to work for UK bankers.
Singapore came top out of five financial centres listed as options on the survey by recruitment firm Astbury Marsden. It was chosen by 27 per cent of the 300 UK banking-sector professionals surveyed. London clocked up 22 per cent of the votes and Hong Kong 20 per cent. New York and Dubai trailed further behind.
Although this sample group is fairly small, there is other anecdotal evidence to suggest that Singapore’s status as a talent magnet is increasing. Here are six reasons why British bankers are seeking jobs in the city state.
1) Lifestyle
The demographics of the people surveyed could partly explain Singapore’s popularity, says Mark O''Reilly, managing Director, Asia Pacific, Astbury Marsden. “They are predominately mid to senior-level professionals, many of whom might have young families. While Hong Kong offers excellent career opportunities for senior banking staff, Singapore residents benefit from better value housing as well as access to excellent career progression opportunities.”
2) Profile
There has been more positive coverage of the Singaporean market in the UK financial press in recent months, says O''Reilly. “Singapore didn''t loom as large on the radar three years ago but now there is an increasing number of people interested in Singapore specifically. And overall enquiries to relocate to Asia are continuing to surge.”
3) Ease
Most western candidates think Singapore is the easiest Asian city for starting a new job, says a head of resourcing at a major European bank in Singapore, who asked to remain anonymous. In Hong Kong, an increased need for bankers to speak Mandarin and understand the mainland market means some people struggle to transfer their skills from London. “Let’s face it, Singapore is still ‘Asia lite’. In most roles, English is the only language you need,” he adds.
4) Career
Such is the career pull of Singapore that most candidates aren’t attracted there by expat luxuries such as accommodation, cars and school fees. “The level of supply of staff wanting to come to Singapore and the depth of the local talent pool means that expensive relocation packages are no longer seen as key," says O''Reilly.
Budding expats are demanding relatively modest base pay rises of 10 to 15 per cent when moving to Singapore. “With Asian markets taking off, people are coming to the region for career development – it’s not just about the money.”
5) Push
Push factors out of London help to explain some of the enthusiasm for Singapore. “Now that bonuses in the UK have largely been announced, and are generally disappointing, we are seeing more movement. Bonuses are becoming a reason not just for people to change companies, but to change countries too. There’s been an influx of CVs in recent weeks,” says O''Reilly.
A headhunter from another firm, who asked not to be named, adds: “We’re seeing more candidates from London, especially from EU banks. Why stick around at RBS in London, where your cash bonus is limited to £2,000, when you could join a different bank in Asia?”
6) Need
Candidates are cottoning onto the fact that after a lull during the GFC, banks in Singapore are now doing more overseas recruitment. Although they prefer to hire people with local experience, this pool gets exhausted quickly for many roles, says the anonymous headhunter. Standard Chartered, he adds, recruits globally at most levels from the outset. According to new data from recruitment firm Hays, 47.3 per cent of its financial services placements in Singapore are overseas-based candidates.
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