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00:00THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. YOUR OVERALL PICTURE, WHAT IS THE EMPLOYMENT LANDSCAPE LOOKING LIKE? WHERE ARE THE HOTSPOTS, WHERE ARE THE WEAK ONES? > > THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME. WE'RE ABOUT TO LAUNCH HONG KONG, SINGAPORE, AND CHINA. THERE ARE GOOD TRENDS ACROSS THOSE GEOGRAPHIES. SOME SIMILARITIES BETWEEN HONG KONG AND SINGAPORE, WITH THE AVERAGE SALARY INCREASE THE BETWEEN 5% TO 7%. SLIGHTLY HIGHER IN CHINA, 7% TO 9%. FOR CERTAIN SKILL SETS IN HIGH DEMAND, WE COULD EXPECT SIGNIFICANT SALARY INCREASES, SPECIFICALLY THE LATEST TREND AROUND DIGITAL, ROBOTICS, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, AND DATA. DAVID: RIGHT, JUST TOO. PIVOT. IS THERE ANY SPECIFIC PART WITHIN FINANCIAL SERVICES, OR WHATEVER SUBSECTOR, THAT SEEMS TO BE SEEING MORE WAGE INFLATION THAN OTHERS? > > SO FAR, WE HAVE SEEN MORE INVESTMENT LAST YEAR. AS WE TALKED TO BANKS ON A REGULAR BASIS, WE SEE THIS INVESTMENT TO CONTINUE THIS YEAR , INVESTMENT BANKERS. THERE IS DEMAND FOR SUPPORT FUNCTIONS, RISK, SUPPORT FUNCTIONS. IT'S NOT JUST MARKET DEMANDS, BUT REGULATIONS DRIVING THOSE TRENDS IN THE MARKET. FOR EXAMPLE, THERE HAS BEEN DEMAND DRIVEN FROM THE BANKS FOR MORE REGULATORY COMPLIANCE EXPERTS. THERE IS IMPACT ON THE INSURANCE INDUSTRIES. ALSO, EXPORTS WITHIN REGULATORY ACROSS HONG KONG. THERE ARE DIFFERENT FACTORS. OVERALL, WE ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT THE FINANCIAL SERVICES INDUSTRY IN SINGAPORE AND HONG KONG. WE SAW A LOT OF ACTIVITY IN THE ASSET MANAGEMENT SPACE IN HONG KONG COME AND FORECAST THE SAME IN 2019. RISHAAD: HAS THERE BEEN A SHIFT IN THE WAY PEOPLE LOOK AT THESE VARIOUS PROFESSIONS? A LAWYER, BANKER WAS SEEN AS A DESTINATION, AND THAT IS WHAT YOU NEED, THAT STAMP OF AUTHENTICITY AS A CAREER. HAS THAT CHANGE OR IS THAT CHANGING? > > YES, IT IS CORRECT. WE ARE SEEING MORE CROSS FUNCTIONAL EXPERTISE EMERGING IN THE MARKETS, SPECIFICALLY AS TECHNOLOGY IS EMBEDDED ACROSS ORGANIZATIONS. THERE IS A NEED FOR TALENTS WITHIN THOSE SEGMENTS, THOSE TEAMS COME TO BE EQUIPPED WITH ADDITIONAL SKILLS. WITHIN FINANCE AND ACCOUNTING, FOR EXAMPLE, ACROSS THOSE COUNTRIES, WE SEE INCREASING DEMAND FOR CROSS FUNCTIONAL SKILLS WITHIN FINANCE, SOFTWARE, SO JOB SEEKERS THAT ARE EQUIPPED WITH CROSS FUNCTIONAL SKILLS WITHIN FINANCE AND TECHNOLOGY ARE HIGH IN DEMAND AND SHOULD COMMAND A HIGHER SALARY IN THE AVERAGE. WE HAVE SEEN, AS WELL, THE RISE OF -- DAVID: GO AHEAD. [CROSSTALK] DAVID: SAY I HAD A 15-YEAR-OLD SON GOING TO COLLEGE SAYING I WANT TO MAKE A LOT OF MONEY. DO I BE A BANKER, DOCTOR, CONSULTANT, WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST? > > WE NEED TO REALIZE THAT 50% OF THE JOBS OUR CHILDREN WILL BE DOING IN THE NEXT 20 YEARS THIS NOT EXIST TODAY. HAVING A JOY OF LEARNING IS KEY TO STAY RELEVANT IN THE MARKETPLACE. I THINK PASSION SHOULD BE MORE IMPORTANT THAN JUST A DRIVER OF MAKING INCOMES, ESPECIALLY AT THAT AGE, BUT WE SEE A LOT OF FRESH GRADUATES ENTERING THE MARKET WITH DESIRE TO MAKE A GOOD INCOME. A LARGE PROPORTION OF THEM UNDERSTAND THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF COMPENSATION, THE SALARY, AND THE EXPANSION AGAIN THAT WILL

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What You Need to Know About Salary Trends in Asia's Finance Sector

Matthieu Imbert-Bouchard, Singapore managing director at Robert Half, discusses the salary trends he's seeing in Singapore, Hong Kong and China, and where he sees demand and opportunity. He speaks on "Bloomberg Markets: Asia." (Source: Bloomberg)

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