Why Aussies are coming to Asia: Careers matter more than money

Australian banking professionals are primarily moving to Hong Kong and Singapore because they want to grow their careers in large financial centres. As motivating factors, salaries and low taxes in Asia have to some extent been offset by the rising Australian dollar and increasing local living costs.

Motivations to move

So why are Australians still shifting to Singapore and Hong Kong? Primarily because they want to improve longer-term career prospects, says Guy Day, chief executive, Ambition. Asian economies are growing and Singapore and Hong Kong are more significant global financial centres than Sydney or Melbourne.

Dominic Bareham, manager, accounting and finance, Morgan McKinley says the number of executive roles in Australia is limited, which is prompting senior people to widen their search to include Asia.

Chris Mead, general manager of Hays in Singapore, agrees. He says the majority of candidates who move to Asia are at senior manager and director level because there are too many people applying for too few of these jobs in Australia. “There are more strategic and senior/regional roles available in Asia which, quite often, still allow candidates exposure to Australian markets, but give them a career step-up that is often unavailable at home.”

It’s more difficult for the less experienced. Day says: “In Singapore and Hong Kong, locals are preferred for more junior hires, and at this level Cantonese is practically a pre-requisite in HK.”

Australians are having better success finding jobs in certain functions. “Candidates within product control at all levels are picking up roles very quickly in Singapore as it is a highly valued skill set which is in short supply. Strategy, product management, treasury and risk experience is also proving popular,” says Mead.

Costs could put you off

The current strength of the Australian dollar is making Asian salaries seem less attractive than a year ago and helping to reduce the pool of Australians who are willing to relocate, says Day. “Despite tax being lower in Asia, that doesn’t offset the combination of a lower base and a higher cost of living, especially accommodation costs.”

Australian candidates therefore often want a significant premium to move, but banks in Asia aren’t usually open to paying more than the local market rate, adds Day. This problem is more acute for middle- and back-office professionals who don’t enjoy the same high bonuses as their front-office counterparts in Hong Kong and Singapore.

And although banking jobs in Asia are still more plentiful than in the US or Europe, vacancies volumes are starting to slide. “The market was more active last year as it was emerging from the effects of the GFC, and thus organisations were focused on rebuilding their teams. We have observed more cost constraints this year due to the market not performing as well as expected,” says Christina Ng, manager, financial services, Robert Walters.

20 July 2011    Simon Mortlock

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