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-   -   Banking jobs in HK (https://britishexpats.com/forum/china-hong-kong-151/banking-jobs-hk-874311/)

Inspired2015 Mar 14th 2016 9:29 pm

Banking jobs in HK
 
Hi all,

As per an earlier post of mine, I am a British citizen who is very interested in working in Hong Kong. I’m looking specifically for risk management roles in banking. What I do have in my favour is that I currently work for a top US investment bank in London in a market risk related role. However, I realise this is still a very difficult proposition, particularly with the very strong local competition and that I am not that senior in my current role. Neither do I speak Mandarin.

Any advice or contacts would be greatly appreciated.

I have registered with a few HK recruitment consultants but so far I have had no luck.

Thanks,

Marck

hong_konger Mar 15th 2016 5:45 am

Re: Banking jobs in HK
 
why don't you apply for a transfer with your current Bank ?

DigitalGhost Mar 15th 2016 11:53 am

Re: Banking jobs in HK
 

Originally Posted by Inspired2015 (Post 11895348)
Neither do I speak Mandarin.

Shouldn't make too much of a difference since in Hong Kong they speak Cantonese.

The Sorceror Mar 16th 2016 1:59 pm

Re: Banking jobs in HK
 

Originally Posted by DigitalGhost (Post 11895823)
Shouldn't make too much of a difference since in Hong Kong they speak Cantonese.

You're joking, I hope. The fact that Cantonese is the daily language in Hong Kong is totally irrelevant.....the reality is that a command of Mandarin is essential in today's business world, especially in Hong Kong.

DigitalGhost Mar 16th 2016 2:05 pm

Re: Banking jobs in HK
 

Originally Posted by The Sorceror (Post 11897211)
You're joking, I hope. The fact that Cantonese is the daily language in Hong Kong is totally irrelevant.....the reality is that a command of Mandarin is essential in today's business world, especially in Hong Kong.

The OP didn't imply that but fair enough.

The fact that growth in China is shrinking rapidly suggests that Chinese may not be as essential for a business career in the future as many expect. Remember that Japanese and German were similarly considered essential for a business career in the early to mid 90's.

The Sorceror Mar 16th 2016 2:17 pm

Re: Banking jobs in HK
 

Originally Posted by DigitalGhost (Post 11897219)
The OP didn't imply that but fair enough.

The fact that growth in China is shrinking rapidly suggests that Chinese may not be as essential for a business career in the future as many expect. Remember that Japanese and German were similarly considered essential for a business career in the early to mid 90's.

I will meet you back here in 10 years time and we 'll compare notes !!

hong_konger Mar 17th 2016 1:06 am

Re: Banking jobs in HK
 
I'm not in banking. Cantonese is spoken in Hong Kong. If you are not Chinese then you are unlikely to be fluent in either Cantonese or Mandarin. If being able to fluently speak and (god forbid) read and write Cantonese and /or Mandarin is a necessary for you to do your job then you will struggle. On the other hand if you are able to converse in either of those languages it will go a long way in getting a job here.

DigitalGhost Mar 17th 2016 11:01 am

Re: Banking jobs in HK
 

Originally Posted by The Sorceror (Post 11897233)
I will meet you back here in 10 years time and we 'll compare notes !!

You're on. :lol:

DigitalGhost Mar 17th 2016 11:06 am

Re: Banking jobs in HK
 

Originally Posted by hong_konger (Post 11897730)
If being able to fluently speak and (god forbid) read and write Cantonese and /or Mandarin is a necessary for you to do your job then you will struggle.

I'm British-born and from a white-European lineage and I can read and write a sizeable amount of Japanese including the Chinese (kanji) alphabet. I know that Chinese uses far more characters than Japanese but it's not impossible to learn how to read and write in Asian languages. Unfortunately I think a lot of people just assume that it is and therefore don't bother.

These days you don't really need to handwrite much either and learning how to write in those alphabets is usually the most difficult part.


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