Hong Kong Bankers Have Lots of Free Time, Anxiety as Deals Slump
- Plunge in Chinese M&A activity, IPOs ends ‘golden era’
- Strained ties with US cast pall over 2024 outlook for deals
This article is for subscribers only.
Eighty-hour weeks. Multi-billion dollar deals. Huge bonuses. Until recently, life as an investment banker in Hong Kong was both intense and lucrative.
These days, it’s anything but. The big China deals that lined rainmakers’ pockets for decades have evaporated. Banks and law firms alike are cutting jobs. Those advisers that remain are chasing smaller deals and taking extended vacations.