Despite the grim global economic scenario, French banking giant Societe Generale (SG) said it plans to at least double its staff on the mainland in 2009.

According to Reuters, the French lender will also expand its network to 40 to 50 branches in the coming five years. The bank currently has a 330-member staff on the mainland.

The Paris-headquartered bank has also opened its wholly-owned incorporated unit on the mainland in September. Before the launch of its mainland unit, the bank focused on corporate and investment banking business through its five branches.

Talking about the mainland unit, Pascal Sefrin, head of SG's corporate and investment banking for the mainland, told Reuters that it was a major milestone as it opened up a lot of opportunities for the bank.

"Recruitment in financial and banking-related industries has been increasing since mainland's open policies toward mergers and acquisitions took effect at the end of 2006, when banks from Hong Kong and overseas were encouraged to enter the market," Alexa Chow, managing director at Centaline human resources consultancy said.

"Financial-related industries such as banking and insurance are less affected by the global financial turmoil at the moment," Chow said. "The demand for talents in the banking sector is great and there are a lot of job vacancies on the market," she added.

Chow said there has been a trend of Hong Kong and overseas banks transferring experienced staff from Hong Kong branches to the mainland and she thinks this trend will continue in the coming years.

Supported by huge domestic consumption and considerable GDP growth, overseas banks and financial institutions are keen to expand their businesses on the mainland.

Two days ago, global accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers also announced its plan to hire about 2,000 graduates on the mainland in 2009.

(HK Edition 11/06/2008 page2)