The apparently never-ending story of mainland China growth is drawing the interest of banks from economies long-admired for their own skill at interweaving laissez-faire verve into a state-driven economic model.
Which takes us to the Lion City, as it increasingly looks north of Southeast Asia for emerging opportunities.
'Regionally, mainland China has experienced the fastest growth in the number of super-wealthy households, defined as those with more than US$100 million (HK$780 million) in assets-under-management,' says Sermon Kwan, Bank of Singapore's managing director, head of Greater China and chief executive, Hong Kong Branch.
'And with the increasing demand for private banking services, the Bank of Singapore - as the only dedicated private bank headquartered in Singapore - plans to grow its mainland China business through branding, strategic recruitment and leveraging on its parent company OCBC.'
The Bank of Singapore's mainland China network consists of 14 main and sub-branches in eight key cities, including its headquarters in Shanghai, Beijing, Chengdu, Guangzhou, and Xiamen. If this plan meets expectations, the bank will see its staffing requirement rise, with Putonghua-speaking candidates getting priority.
The bank now employs over 750 staff, and is carving out a regional presence, but with a particular focus on the Greater China region.
Job-hunters in the banking sector, with the appropriate language skills, should explore the new frontier of private banking, configured for the new generation of mainland high net-worth individuals, says Kwan.