The changing environment is prompting Atlantic Partners to rethink its decision to shift its head office to Singapore from Hong Kong, according to managing director Arv Sreedhar, who is weighing whether to return to the city-state after he builds out the firm’s European business.
“People with families who are a bit advanced in their careers are thinking, ‘what am I doing here?’ Why am I in a place which is unfriendly and unwelcoming?’” said Sreedhar, whose firm runs about $2 billion. “It should have been the other way around,” he said. “Singapore could have attracted all the talent from Hong Kong.”
Other companies are seeking workarounds. One executive at a European bank said his firm applied for short-term visas to move some employees from Hong Kong because they faced difficulty getting permits for longer stretches.
Some international banks and professional services firms have expressed frustration over the pressure to hire local staff at the junior level, where it can be hard to find appropriate skills, people familiar with the matter said. That’s been exacerbated by a labor shortage, which has dropped Singapore’s jobless rate to just 2.4%, less than half Hong Kong’s level.
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/china/expat-bankers-fleeing-hong-kong-see-no-easy-escape-to-singapore
Copyright © BloombergQuint
“People with families who are a bit advanced in their careers are thinking, ‘what am I doing here?’ Why am I in a place which is unfriendly and unwelcoming?’” said Sreedhar, whose firm runs about $2 billion. “It should have been the other way around,” he said. “Singapore could have attracted all the talent from Hong Kong.”
Other companies are seeking workarounds. One executive at a European bank said his firm applied for short-term visas to move some employees from Hong Kong because they faced difficulty getting permits for longer stretches.
Some international banks and professional services firms have expressed frustration over the pressure to hire local staff at the junior level, where it can be hard to find appropriate skills, people familiar with the matter said. That’s been exacerbated by a labor shortage, which has dropped Singapore’s jobless rate to just 2.4%, less than half Hong Kong’s level.
Read more at: https://www.bloombergquint.com/china/expat-bankers-fleeing-hong-kong-see-no-easy-escape-to-singapore
Copyright © BloombergQuint
