Capital markets hiring hot in 2007
Equity finance and debt capital markets (DCM) will be the two main areas for hiring in Hong Kong next year, recruiters say.
Merrill Lynch, HSBC, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, UBS and Deutsche Bank are all said to be in the market for equity finance professionals. Chris Baker, the head of equity finance at Citigroup in Hong Kong recently moved to join HSBC, and is looking to build up expertise. Deutsche is also looking to rebuild its equity finance team after three top professionals left it to join Bear Stearns.
"Deutsche will likely be looking to hire again but not until the New Year, while HSBC have said they want to build up the team internally," a headhunter in Hong Kong, tells us. "Equity finance is the hot area right now."
Aaron Stewart at Pelham Search Pacific in Hong Kong says debt capital market hires - in particular, for professionals with expertise in Asian high yield and distressed debt - will be the next wave.
Credit Suisse, which appointed Mike Joo and Ping Tan to co-head the bank's non-Japan Asia debt capital markets team in September, is also said to be looking to ramp up.
"On the whole it is senior originators with a track record in Asian securitization and DCM that are top of hirers lists," says Stewart. "In DCM, Asian high yield and distressed debt look set to do well. It's hard to put a figure on pay. Top banks pay top performers top bonuses and one to two year guarantees are very much the norm."
