Singapore has "swung too much" towards prioritising the hiring of local over foreign talent, says Edmund Koh, Swiss private bank UBS' Asia-Pacific head of wealth management.
"First and foremost I am very proud to be a Singaporean," he said.
"But I'm also acutely aware that we should not overplay that, because
being a cosmopolitan city and being an international hub, we need to...
be pragmatic and realistic about what our requirements are."
In short, he said, an international financial hub requires international talent.
"In banking there's one thing that's very important and that is affinity-built trust," he noted.
For example, he said, if an Italian client interested in investing in China were to approach a bank in Singapore, he would be ill-served by an adviser who does not really know Italian culture, or how to build a relationship with someone from Milan, versus someone from Rome.
"Remember, because of that kind of deal flow that comes to Singapore, we create more banking jobs. If you are so myopic and keep thinking it has to be local, local, local, we lose that element of internationalising, of being truly an international centre," he said.
"Yes, I'm a champion for Singaporeans. Once a very wise man told me: 'Ed, we must never forget to plant our own timber.' Yes, we plant our own timber. We should. But if you need to supplement it, if you need to buy an orchard, then you buy it."
To be sure, Mr Koh has made some high-profile local hires.
He recruited former Singapore Exchange president Gan Seow Ann in 2013 as vice-chairman of wealth management in South-east Asia.
And last week he announced that he had managed to convince banking veteran Tracey Woon, now Citi's vice-chairman of Asean corporate and investment banking, to join UBS, also as a vice-chairman of wealth management in South-east Asia, in the third quarter of this year.
While his views might not be considered politically correct, the 55-year-old said, he believes it is what Singapore really needs.
"I care for my country. If I look at my country 15, 25, 30 years out, this is what we need for now. We need to be nimble and pragmatic, we need to communicate very well our needs and we need a balance."
By: Edmund Koh
Swiss private bank UBS' Asia-Pacific head of wealth management
Source: ST
bit.ly/1McD8ss
In short, he said, an international financial hub requires international talent.
"In banking there's one thing that's very important and that is affinity-built trust," he noted.
For example, he said, if an Italian client interested in investing in China were to approach a bank in Singapore, he would be ill-served by an adviser who does not really know Italian culture, or how to build a relationship with someone from Milan, versus someone from Rome.
"Remember, because of that kind of deal flow that comes to Singapore, we create more banking jobs. If you are so myopic and keep thinking it has to be local, local, local, we lose that element of internationalising, of being truly an international centre," he said.
"Yes, I'm a champion for Singaporeans. Once a very wise man told me: 'Ed, we must never forget to plant our own timber.' Yes, we plant our own timber. We should. But if you need to supplement it, if you need to buy an orchard, then you buy it."
To be sure, Mr Koh has made some high-profile local hires.
He recruited former Singapore Exchange president Gan Seow Ann in 2013 as vice-chairman of wealth management in South-east Asia.
And last week he announced that he had managed to convince banking veteran Tracey Woon, now Citi's vice-chairman of Asean corporate and investment banking, to join UBS, also as a vice-chairman of wealth management in South-east Asia, in the third quarter of this year.
While his views might not be considered politically correct, the 55-year-old said, he believes it is what Singapore really needs.
"I care for my country. If I look at my country 15, 25, 30 years out, this is what we need for now. We need to be nimble and pragmatic, we need to communicate very well our needs and we need a balance."
By: Edmund Koh
Swiss private bank UBS' Asia-Pacific head of wealth management
Source: ST
bit.ly/1McD8ss
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