Market Update Q4 2018 - Pinpoint Asia

Most sought after Tech Programming Skill: This has to be Python! Not just scripting skills in Python but proper Python OOD skills. One of the reasons for this trend is a growing understanding and adoption of Devops and SRE (Reliability Engineering) practice by the financial sector in Asia. If there is one tech language one should learn going into 2019, it is probably Python; A close second would be Javascript (on the UI side)
Most popular type of roles: We would say (1) Java Full Stack developers (2) DevOps roles (3) Support roles. So, essentially, Java / Javascript (Angular, React) / Python, Unix and Scripting. These roles have also paid quite well for strong candidates
We have seen a growing trend of senior management tech hires in Asia. As there is a sustained growth in the Asia market, the global financial firms are looking to strengthen their management layer in HK/TKY/SG. As a result, we have seen an increased number of MD and ED level hires in the region.
Salary ranges: We frequently get asked about salary ranges for certain functions. Here is a summary for 2018:

_Function^{Yrs of Exp}	Analyst 0 – 5 years	Associate 5 – 10 years	VP 10 – 15 years	ED 0 – 15+ years	MD 15+ years
Front Office Developer / Architect / Development Manager	HKD 400,000 – 600,000	HKD 550,000 – 1,100,000	HKD 1,000,000 – 1,700,000	HKD 1,600,000 – 2,500,000	–
MO / BO Developer / Development Manager	HKD 300,000 – 500,000	HKD 400,000 – 900,000	HKD 1,000,000 – 1,400,000	HKD 1,400,000 – 2,100,000	–
Business Analyst	HKD 300,000 – 600,000	HKD 500,000 – 900,000	HKD 1,000,000 – 1,400,000	–	–
Project Manager / Program Manager	–	HKD 500,000 – 1,200,000	HKD 1,200,000 – 1,700,000	HKD 1,500,000 – 2,100,000	–
PMO / Head of PMO	HKD 300,000 – 450,000	HKD 500,000 – 1,000,000	HKD 1,000,000 – 1,500,000	HKD 1,500,000 – 2,100,000	–
Business Manager / IT COO	–	–	HKD 1,000,000 – 1,500,000	HKD 1,500,000 – 2,100,000	HKD 2,500,000+
CIO / CTO	–	–	–	HKD 1,500,000 – 2,100,000	HKD 2,500,000+
Infrastructure Lead / Manager / Head of Infrastructure	–	HKD 500,000 – 1,000,000	HKD 1,000,000 – 1,500,000	HKD 1,500,000 – 2,100,000	HKD 2,500,000+
IT Risk / Auditing	HKD 300,000 – 500,000	HKD 500,000 – 1,000,000	HKD 1,000,000 – 1,500,000	HKD 1,500,000 – 1,900,000	–
QA / QA Manager	HKD 250,000 – 500,000	HKD 500,000 – 1,000,000	HKD 1,000,000 – 1,200,000	–	–
Support / Support Lead / Head of Support	HKD 350,000 – 600,000	HKD 500,000 – 1,000,000	HKD 1,000,000 – 1,500,000	HKD 1,500,000 – 2,100,000	HKD 2,500,000+

Jobs we saw being created and filled were related to transformation across Cloud, Digitalization, Innovation, Architecture and InsurTech.
The Insurance Authority might issue a “Fast Track” License on Sole Digital Distribution for Life Insurance products in Q1 2019. This will further speed up InsurTech development and attract further investment into the industry. Traditional Insurance companies are also transforming themselves to cope with the changes.
The Insurance sector is still attracting candidates from other industries, mainly in the banking field as they are able to provide more aggressive packages and promising projects. We expect this trend to continue in 2019.

We saw cryptocurency / block chain firms hiring more tech talent with promises of bigger payoffs in the form of equity but this trend slowed in the second half of the year probably due to uncertainties surrounding regulation of these firms.
There was an increasing demand for Cloud Technologists (AWS / Azure / GWS). Those with a traditional Windows / Unix Server infrastructure support experience would be better off learning Cloud-related technologies to future-proof their skill set.
Virtual Banking is probably going to be the next major banking programme for Traditional Banks and FinTech Unicorns next year. HKMA has already received 29 applications in August this year and is expecting to grant licenses during Q1 2019. We have started receiving hiring requests from clients already for projects related to this and we expect this to continue into next year.

Hope you found this information useful. Please do contact us should you need more information.

We look forward to helping you.