Shanghai searches for overseas talent
Representatives from 28 financial institutions in Shanghai left for the United Kingdom and the United States so as to recruit professionals.
At a regular press briefing, the government said around 170 senior positions are being offered in the financial institutions including banks, fund, and asset management companies. While in the non-financial sector, more than 1,000 positions are being offered. In London, Chicago, and New York, three recruitment booths will be established by the municipal bureau and the local financial services office. And the booths will be open soon.
“The timing is great for us given the fact that some premier foreign financial institutions are facing hardship and redundancy problems because of the global economic downturn,” Chu Minwei, president of Shanghai Financial University, said.
The university is also looking to recruit overseas. It is seeking three people to fill the positions of dean, department of international securities; assistant president, academic affairs; and chief economist, international finance institution.
Chu said, “We expect the overseas professionals to help extend our global academic network, and introduce more top people to our university.” Jeanne Qian, China country manager for human resources consulting firm, Neumann Partners, said, “It’s a smart move by Chinese companies to conduct this strategic hiring given the current situation under which foreign firms are laying off staff.
Overseas professionals have a broader global view and have more international exposure, in particular to risk management, than domestic professionals.”
Ian Crawford, executive director of the British Chamber of Commerce Shanghai, said the City of London is the largest financial market in the world, and thus has a wide variety of outstanding professionals. In Crawford’s opinion, overseas professionals work in a much bigger and wider market, and therefore have the opportunity to learn more about the trading and application of sophisticated financial products.
However, there are stumbling blocks ahead for the talent hunters, of which salaries and the cultural divide are the major ones.
“The payment gap will still be there, although we will offer attractive salary packages for ideal candidates. We will offer an annual salary of 500,000 yuan ($ 74,000) or above, which is much higher than the average in China,” Chu said.
Crawford said Chinese financial institutions may baulk at the salary and bonus packages being offered to attract top professionals. However, in his opinion, it is not until the Chinese financial markets are significantly opened up that there will be much attraction for these professionals to come to Shanghai.
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