Shanghai looks overseas to fill posts
Shanghai will look overseas to fill more than 170 posts in the city's financial sector, taking advantage of the wave of layoffs and closures of global financial institutions.
A government delegation would seek candidates for nearly 30 institutions while on a trip to Britain and the United States, the Oriental Morning Post and a city government spokesman said yesterday.
A recruiting advertisement posted on the government-backed Shanghai Finance website (sjr.sh.gov.cn) made no mention of specific requirements, but a knowledge of Chinese might be an advantage given that the notice was largely in Chinese.
The Shanghai Financial Services Office and the recently created Shanghai Human Resources and Social Security Bureau will recruit in London on Saturday, Chicago on Tuesday and New York next Thursday.
Although Shanghai has previously sought to recruit overseas talent, the economic crisis means it may have a larger field to choose from.
One foreign veteran of the mainland financial industry said he suspected the recruitment drive was aimed mainly at Chinese nationals studying or working overseas. 'They are trying to get the CFAs [chartered financial analysts] or PhDs who never came home,' he said.
Some Chinese professionals have previously found the salaries and freedom from political interference at financial institutions overseas more rewarding than working for state-owned firms at home, he said.
The roles to be filled are at the Shanghai Stock Exchange, banks, securities houses, fund management firms, insurance companies and even the Pudong district government.
Saturday's session will be held at the London Marriott in West India Quay, Tuesday's at the Doubletree Hotel Chicago in Oak Brook and next Thursday's at the Sheraton LaGuardia East Hotel in Flushing, New York.
