HONG KONG: Things are looking up for job seekers in the financial sector these days but the ones in greatest demand and capable of earning the highest pay are those with "business intelligence". The market is eager to employ people with a keen sense of customer service and the ability to help promote financial services outside the city, especially on the mainland, a survey by the City University of Hong Kong shows.

Business intelligence is a kind of information management, referring to the skill of understanding the needs of customers by knowing their behavior to personalize financial services or products and maximize sales.

According to the September survey conducted among 223 enterprises in the financial sector by the university, over half expressed interest in recruiting fresh graduates over the next three months.

Some 40 percent of the respondents were willing to add 10 percent to starting salaries for those with business intelligence. The companies also seek the talents of those who specialize in risk management.

The reasons cited are that business intelligence is an important factor in making business decisions and is an asset that contributes to the cost effectiveness of business operations.

Hong Kong has been caught in the shadow of the Lehman Brothers fiasco for more than a year and employment prospects in the financial sector have been equally cloudy.

The university interpreted the results of its survey as showing signs of recovery in the local financial market.

Meanwhile, the study revealed that Hong Kong's sophisticated knowledge of information management opens new avenues for the city to enhance its financial development.

"Before the global economic crunch, the industry neglected the importance of risk management. However, people take a prudent attitude in buying financial products now and they want tailor-made services to best suit their needs," said Ma Jian, the university's information systems professor.

In rallying the sector, Ma reckoned the city should take a more aggressive role in participating in mainland economic development as well as in training talents with business intelligence and risk management.

The city should grasp this opportunity to engage in the mainland, where there is a potential demand for its service, he explained, adding that Hong Kong remained focused almost exclusively on the local market in the past.

"How great the opportunity is if the affluent users on Alibaba or Taobao (mainland online trade platforms) can use Hong Kong bank services in addition to the mainland ones!" Ma said.

He cautioned that Shanghai could still threaten the position of Hong Kong as the mainland financial hub in the future, given Shanghai's rapid development over the decade.

If Hong Kong does not take positive steps forward now, it could be eclipsed by Shanghai in the finance field in the future, the researchers concluded.

(HK Edition 10/14/2009 page1)