Six sought-after investment banking jobs in Hong Kong and Singapore

It’s March. Chinese New Year is over, bonuses are being paid (if you’re lucky), and we’re now in the season where investment banks are supposedly hiring more front-office staff in Asia.

While headhunters say there are fewer investment banking and trading jobs now than this time last year, vacancies continue to crop up at global firms in Hong Kong and Singapore. Here are some that have caught our eye.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch: get into leverage finance

Associate jobs in leverage finance are typically filled by analysts in the team who get promoted. But this role in BAML’s Hong Kong leveraged and syndicated finance department is open to external candidates and those without leverage finance experience (an M&A or corporate finance background will do). Unusually, the bank is also open to candidates who don’t speak Mandarin. What you will need, however, are “strong quantitative and analytical skills” and “excellent cash-flow modelling analysis and credit understanding”.

BNP Paribas: FIG frenzy

Financial institutions group (FIG) bankers have been in high demand for nearly a year in Asia – and BNP Paribas now wants a VP for its FIG team in Singapore. Between six and 10 years’ experience in M&A and/or ECM is needed, but actual FIG expertise is a “significant positive” rather than a prerequisite. This job will see you managing the execution of live transactions (including leading a deal team) and liaising with clients, counterparties and advisors. You must be technically proficient in financial modelling “including DCF/DDM modelling, analysis of public-trading comparables and precedent transactions, and merger modelling”.

Citi: make a mark in emerging markets

Want to work in Hong Kong, but not have your job tied to China? Citi is seeking an emerging markets trader mainly focused on India, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand. The role involves “market making of ex-China investment grade corporates and financials”. No seniority level is stated, but you will need a “working knowledge of investment grade bonds and CDS” and an “understanding of macro markets and pricing of risk with application to market making”. A consistently profitability track record is “advantageous”.

Credit Suisse: shape strategy when you’re just a junior

Do you have a mere two years’ experience in investment banking? Are you already tiring of working deal-to-deal? Do you want a more strategic role helping to drive the expansion of a bank which is refocusing its business towards Asian markets? If so, this analyst-level ‘Asia strategist’ role at Credit Suisse (which can be based in either Singapore or Hong Kong) may well be for you. As part of the Asia strategy team, which reports to the regional CEO, you’ll conduct business reviews for Credit Suisse departments and markets, and assess M&A and investment opportunities for the firm.

Goldman Sachs: regional specialist in Singapore

Twelve months ago, Goldman Sachs was trimming its senior advisory ranks in Singapore. Now (after falling outside the top-10 firms in Dealogic’s 2015 rankings for Southeast Asian M&A, ECM and DCM) the US firm is hiring in the city state. It’s after a Singapore-based VP for the Southeast Asian group in its investment banking division. You’ll need at least five years’ experience, suggesting that Goldman is open to top-performing associates looking to move up a rank. This is a cross-product and cross-sector role, so Goldman is demanding general ‘investment banking’ expertise, with a preference for regional  knowledge.

J.P. Morgan: sanctuary in equities

In a job market awash with unemployed equities traders following savage cuts at Standard Chartered, Barclays, Deutsche Bank, BNP Paribas, CLSA, Nomura, CIMB and Jefferies in recent months, this is likely to be one of the most hotly contested jobs in Asian banking. JPM wants an equity sales trader at VP level in Singapore – someone who can hit the ground running in its “dynamic and busy trading floor”. You’ll need “significant experience gained within a sales role in an investment banking environment”, a “well established selling style” and a “deep understanding of client-specific nuances and leverages”.

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