Executive Summary – Q2 2021

1. Tech hiring boom continues: We have been experiencing another record quarter of strong demand for technologists within the FSI domain (including crypto trading firms). Candidates have been receiving 15-20% increases in salaries for switching jobs. Many have been getting multiple offers and counteroffers. This strong hiring is both a result of technologists leaving Hong Kong creating vacancies that need to be backfilled and the expansion of companies.
   

    

2. Singapore story losing sizzle: Singapore was supposed to have been significantly benefitting from Hong Kong’s political woes. However, despite a severe shortage of strong local technology talent in Singapore, getting visas for foreigners has been proving to be very difficult there which is forcing many companies to instead hire in Hong Kong.
   

Overview of the sectors we cover

1. Finance Technology:
   

   1. Hiring in China: We reported in our last newsletterthat due to Hong Kong’s political woes, Singapore was becoming a tech hub for many banks including Goldman Sachs. But despite simmering tensions between the East and West, many banks have been investing heavily in technology talent in China where the wealth management business is booming. Recent changes in Chinese regulation that allows foreign firms to own companies in China is also spurring growth and investment.
      

      
      

   2. Crypto Train Chugging Along: The crypto space has been very hot. We observed many of these firms hiring strong technologists from the banks. The recent Bitcoin woes because of Musk’s comment and China’s crackdown has not done much to slow down hiring.
      

   3.  What’s Hot: In terms of the actual skills in demand, there has not been much change. All kinds of strong C++/Java developers (low latency/microservices), full-stack (react), DevOps Engineers, and Python developers have been in continuous demand. Basically, technologists with strong fundamentals are being wooed by almost every industry.
      

2.  Insurance Technology:
   

   1. Bancassurance and Technology Integration: With the recent consolidation activity in the insurance space (AIA acquiring Bank of East Asia’s Life Insurance Business), we observed more roles opening up in the bancassurance, and technology integration area.
      

   2. Growth of InsureTech: Technology hiring, in general, has been booming as insurance companies are preparing for their businesses to bounce back in the post COVID era. These companies will also likely lead the InsurTech hiring in 2021.

      
      

   3.  Movers and Shakers: Mark Seifried has moved from AIA International, Hong Kong where he was the CTO to AXA Asia as their CIO.

3.  Commerce Technology and High Tech
   

   1. Hong Kong Jockey Club recently launched their new digital football betting app GoalXand their Online Account Opening The Club has been aggressively hiring to expand its IT teams. They are currently running strategic projects across Data Analytics, Digital, and Agile Transformation. Sai Chin Li from HSBC, Head of Data & Analytics Technology also recently joined HKJC as their Executive Manager leading the IT Data Analytics Solutions.
      

   2. AWS Summit Hong Kong moved online this year and was held on 27th May. The Summit featured FWD, Mox Bank, and Sun Hung Kai Properties. On-demand videos are still available on their website!
      

4. Others:
   

   1. Hong Kong Monetary Authority launched its FinTech 2025 strategy. It provides several clues as to what we can expect in the future in this space which is continuously evolving.

Best,

Vince Natteri, Managing Director 

(on behalf of the Pinpoint Asia Recruitment Team)