Bloomberg: Investment bankers are returning to Hong Kong from Singapore; Hong Kong's financial status is difficult to replace

金色财经 · 2023-10-09T09:23:01.000Z

Golden Finance reports that some investment bankers who moved to Singapore during the epidemic are gradually returning to Hong Kong. People familiar with the matter pointed out that a Wall Street bank has transferred nearly half of its employees who previously left back to Hong Kong. About one-third of UBS's more than 20 employees who were transferred from Hong Kong have returned. Bloomberg pointed out that Hong Kong is still the first stop for companies hoping to enter China. The report explained that the smaller scale of Singapore's capital market means that the country cannot compete with Hong Kong in terms of trading or stocks, but related income is one of the largest sources of Wall Street's profits in Asia. The total market value of Hong Kong stocks reaches US$5 trillion, more than 12 times that of Singapore. The amount of funds raised by Singapore’s initial public offerings (IPOs) so far this year is also far lower than that of Hong Kong. Hong Kong still provides bankers with a large pool of high-net-worth clients, with nearly half of Asia's hedge fund managers based in the city, according to Preqin data. At the same time, people working in the financial industry in Hong Kong tend to have higher incomes. According to a report last year by eFinancial Careers, the average total salary of financial professionals in Hong Kong was nearly US$300,000 (approximately HK$2.34 million), 52% higher than their counterparts in Singapore. In addition, the economic hinterland is larger than that of Singapore.

Golden Finance reported that some investment bankers who moved to Singapore during the epidemic are returning to Hong Kong. According to people familiar with the matter, some Wall Street banks have transferred nearly half of the employees who had previously left back to Hong Kong. About one-third of the more than 20 employees of UBS who were transferred from Hong Kong to other places have returned. Bloomberg pointed out that Hong Kong is still the first stop for companies that want to enter China. The report explained that the smaller scale of Singapore's capital market means that the country cannot compete with Hong Kong in terms of trading or stocks, but related income is one of the biggest sources of Wall Street's profits in Asia. The total market value of Hong Kong stocks is US$5 trillion, more than 12 times that of Singapore, and the amount of funds raised by Singapore's initial public offerings (IPOs) so far this year is far less than that of Hong Kong. According to Preqin data, Hong Kong still provides a large number of high-net-worth clients for bankers, and nearly half of Asia's hedge fund managers are based in Hong Kong. At the same time, people working in the financial industry in Hong Kong tend to have higher incomes. According to a report by eFinancial Careers last year, the average total salary of Hong Kong financial professionals is nearly US$300,000 (about HK$2.34 million), which is 52% higher than their counterparts in Singapore. In addition, the economic hinterland is also larger than that of Singapore.