Overall Summary

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Jan/Feb during Q1 2024 was largely “more of the same”. The market continued to be sluggish amidst economic and geopolitical concerns. However, we did see an improvement in March which we hope will be sustained. 

The Crypto Space has started to gain traction after a long hiatus. We see roles (Python/C++ developers) beginning to open up in both Hong Kong and Singapore. 

Most IT hires have been happening within the insurance and governmental sectors. 

The Top Talent Pass Scheme is attracting more professional talent, particularly from mainland China, to come to Hong Kong. The government announced that more than 40,000 applicants have come to the city. We expect it to be one of the major sources of tech talent in the market.

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Financial Services and Insurance 

We recently wrote a report on Banking and Finance Technology recruitment analyzing trends across US/European and Chinese Investment banks. This report can be downloaded here in PDF format or please simply reply to this email and ask us for it.  

Insurance companies are announcing their business result and performance scores (which are used to calculate the bonus payout), firms are in general exceeding their business target with the highest up to 200. (100 would be 1x of the target bonus).  

While minimum permanent positions were opening up with banks, contracting positions have been active, albeit in a different volume than what we saw in 2022.

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Other Sectors/Domain-Specific Trends

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AI is probably the hottest topic, with clients and firms actively exploring use cases and technologies. We notice increasing use cases are developing across firms, and it will likely be the next major demand across the market. 

Data would be the major backbone supporting AI innovations. We notice some firms are increasing their headcounts and investments in data-related technologies, including data warehousing, data lakes, and analytics.

Other Noteworthy Points

We have observed a significant interest in offshoring technology functions to lower-cost centers, including Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, and Malaysia. Depending on the bank and the individual responsible for this offshoring, there is a preference for one of these locations. Although India remains a major center, retaining talent there is proving difficult due to intense competition, with IT graduates often receiving multiple offers. Additionally, China appears to be off the table for many firms due to the current geopolitical situation.  

We are glad to announce that Seek has awarded us the Best IT Fintech Recruitment Firm Award for 2023-2024. We sincerely thank all our supporters and well-wishers for helping us achieve this recognition. 

We trust this insight will be of value to you. 

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Best Regards,

Vince Natteri, Managing Director

(on behalf of the Pinpoint Asia Recruitment Team)