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Hong Kong vs. Singapore

Joined
8/21/13
Messages
3
Points
11
Hello Quantnet,

I posted a similar thread on WSO but was hoping I could get a different perspective on this forum.

First a little background: I’ll be heading into my junior undergrad year, studying Computer Science and Math at a top Math/Engineering school in Canada. I’m planning on going for an exchange to an Asian country and have narrowed it down to Singapore vs. Hong Kong. I was wondering if anyone on this board could offer any perspectives on which country would be the better place right now and also over the next 5-10 years or so.

I do know for sure I want to look for career opportunities in Asia down the line and it’d be nice to establish a network in one of Asia’s biggest financial hubs. Could anyone offer any thoughts on where the finance job market in general is heading in either country (Or even tech, etc.). It looks I could be heading down the Financial Engineering route but I think it’s a little too early to narrow down to something that specific yet. I do know I’ll probably have to go through some brand-name top10 US program for grad or B school before thinking of Asia. Any thoughts?

Obviously my first priority thought would be more about the experience. Which city has the better nightlife and atmosphere in general? I’ve read about how awesome LKF in HK is compared to what Singapore’s got, but after seeing Zouk in Singapore, maybe that info’s a little dated?

Does anyone know the percentages/volume of international students and expat community in both places as well? I’d be looking into HKU at Hong Kong and NUS at Singapore.

Also if it matters, I’m Chinese though Canadian born - can communicate a little in Mandarin but not at all in Cantonese. I’ve read that Mandarin fluency is pretty much mandatory in HK for banking, but what about for more quantitative/financial engineering roles?
 
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parties aside, HK is the next big thing. You will have access to China markets and with Mainland expanding RMB trade settlement, hell I'd die to go there.
 
How important will Mandarin be?

very, but don't worry so much about it. there are many expats around, and HK-ers have a good grasp of english and simple chinese. make some friends, immerse in the culture and ur vocb will expand greatly. use google translate for written business correspondence.
 
I am based in Hong Kong and perhaps I can give you some (almost) first-hand information.

Vacancies for quant role in Hong Kong is quite uncommon compared with UK or US. By quant role I mean jobs that involve pricing derivatives, implementing pricing model for structured products, etc. (Risk related jobs are more prevalent, but some people do not consider them as quant roles.) Quant dev is slightly better but employers in Hong Kong are quite demanding. You need to be proficient in a long list of programming languages in addition to standard C++, C#, Java, matlab, VBA, R, python, etc. Unix and database experiences are essential.

For language, native speakers of English with suitable skills should have no problem working in Hong Kong. Intermediate or advanced Mandarin give you additional advantage to work in China oriented firms. If you just want to work in Hong Kong and make money, you can neglect Cantonese, although it is the first language of most people here. All (local) people working in finance are expected to be fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. If you aim at some management positions, Cantonese might be preferred.


There are a lot of expats in Hong Kong so it shouldn't be a problem to find a community that you feel comfortable. However, HKU takes many mainland China students, which may be a good or bad thing. Depends on what you want.

HKU, HKUST and CUHK are the best universities in HK. HKUST is well-known for its EMBA programme (No. 1 in the world) and has a rigorous financial math msc programme. HKU is very researched focused as they want to boost its world ranking. CUHK is more students oriented. All of them have a nice campus.
 
I am based in Hong Kong and perhaps I can give you some (almost) first-hand information.

Vacancies for quant role in Hong Kong is quite uncommon compared with UK or US. By quant role I mean jobs that involve pricing derivatives, implementing pricing model for structured products, etc. (Risk related jobs are more prevalent, but some people do not consider them as quant roles.) Quant dev is slightly better but employers in Hong Kong are quite demanding. You need to be proficient in a long list of programming languages in addition to standard C++, C#, Java, matlab, VBA, R, python, etc. Unix and database experiences are essential.

For language, native speakers of English with suitable skills should have no problem working in Hong Kong. Intermediate or advanced Mandarin give you additional advantage to work in China oriented firms. If you just want to work in Hong Kong and make money, you can neglect Cantonese, although it is the first language of most people here. All (local) people working in finance are expected to be fluent in Cantonese, Mandarin and English. If you aim at some management positions, Cantonese might be preferred.


There are a lot of expats in Hong Kong so it shouldn't be a problem to find a community that you feel comfortable. However, HKU takes many mainland China students, which may be a good or bad thing. Depends on what you want.

HKU, HKUST and CUHK are the best universities in HK. HKUST is well-known for its EMBA programme (No. 1 in the world) and has a rigorous financial math msc programme. HKU is very researched focused as they want to boost its world ranking. CUHK is more students oriented. All of them have a nice campus.

Thanks for the input Kelvin, definitely very informative.
 
BTW, if you really target towards mainland China, you must be able to read Chinese, not just speaking mandarin. Otherwise employers would doubt your ability to react quickly to financial news. English in mainland China are far less common compared with Hong Kong.
 
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