25/10/2011

US legal and financial services firms are seeking to position more and more of their top staff in Hong Kong, in a bid to capitalise on the territory's ever-increasing importance as an Asian financial hub.

Many US firms are raising the pay packages they are offering employees who move to Hong Kong up to match the packages offered to staff based in New York. This means that companies looking to relocate to Hong Kong, or register their businesses there, will be able to benefit from financial service staff who are just as exemplary as their counterparts the US and European financial centres.

Lindsey Sanders, managing director at Lewis Sanders, said that many US firms were even poaching talent from British and Australian businesses, drawing them in with the most lucrative of packages.

"Most US firms pay New York rates across all practice areas, but those in most demand are lawyers with Hong Kong IPO and US securities experience," Sanders explained. "There's been a migration from UK and Australian firms to US firms due to the more attractive salary packages. Many UK firms have lost associates to US firms and a number of key partners have moved from UK firms to US ones, taking associates with them."

Sanders added that the significant IPO activity in Hong Kong in the first half of this year, led to many US firms setting up in Hong Kong, taking advantage of the ease of business incorporation and the abundance of business opportunities.