eFinancialCareers

Some candidates will be hotly pursued in 2008, says Emma Charnock, regional director of Hays in Hong Kong. Here's who they are.

• Credit specialists. Leverage and project finance deals are on the up. These large borrowings require credit approval so there is an array of vacancies in credit at the moment to cope with this large deal flow.

• Operations staff. Increased banking activity in Hong Kong spells increased demand for operational professionals – right through from junior analysts to department heads.

• Accountants in banks. Increased legislation has created hotspots of candidate demand for accountancy skills such as internal audit, risk management, accounting policy, compliance and regulatory reporting. Demand also exists within financial reporting, particularly on a regional basis due to expansion across the Asian region, for IFRS, US GAAP, SOX and Basel II specialists. Meanwhile the shortage of product control specialists, particularly in equity derivatives, has created another hotspot.

• Managers. Senior finance professionals with specialist knowledge in the banking industry and strong management experience are also in demand. Candidates who have international exposure, particularly those with experience growing and expanding business operations, will be keenly sought.

• Specialist programmers. In the specialist finance technology market, specialist programmers with datawarehouse tools, SAS, Cognos or Datastage skills and five years' experience are in most demand within Hong Kong’s specialist finance technology market. This demand is caused by the niche and limited market of candidates with this particular skill. Candidates with specific skills in investment banking finance applications such as Murex, Sofis, Calypso, Summit, Kondor+ are also required. Again there is a limited pool of these skills so demand exceeds supply.

• Systems analysts and project managers. Systems analysts with Java and J2ee, Sun-certified candidates, and those with RPGILE/AS400 and iSeries are hot. Demand is highest for candidates with between three and four years’ experience. Project managers with eight years' or more experience, including five years' large-scale (regional) project management experience in the banking, finance or insurance industry and certification on PMP, Prince 2 and ITIL are equally in demand.

• Lawyers. Law firms are eager to hire mid-level corporate, mergers and acquisitions and finance lawyers. Top-tier law firms still struggle for first-rate academics, language and technical expertise, while international law firms are increasingly looking at PRC lawyers with overseas education skills. And banks themselves are eager to hire derivative lawyers (credit equity and fixed income) at all levels of PQE.