There's an air of quiet optimism at the start of 2012 for the Singapore office.
The end of the calendar year is a relatively quiet time in the recruitment cycle, so in December we were very much focused on manoeuvring ourselves into a strong position for early 2012. Even so, the team did make a few placements, including a couple with brand new clients outside mainstream investment banking. A more diverse client base is good news for our candidates, and it will be an increasingly important factor for our business in 2012 while uncertainty in the global financial markets persists.
Only one of our office returned to the UK for Christmas this year, while three of us remained to experience a Singapore Christmas and one other ventured over to Bali. It was a very odd feeling waking up on Christmas morning with no tree, no decorations, and no family around. But about 15 of us got together to celebrate with a Christmas lunch, kicking off with drinks at the Ritz. At New Year, as in most places around the world, the focus was on house parties – although in Singapore you can have them on a roof-top garden with a hot tub!
We're now a couple of weeks into the new year and I do see positive signs in the market, even this early on, so long may that continue into 2012. The team has come back from the festive break with a really good positive attitude, and we've just agreed on our next hire who will be joining us in mid-March – we're really looking forward to having her on board. I’m confident that here in Singapore we're well positioned to have a busy and profitable year.
All that's left to say now is Happy New Year from the Astbury Marsden Singapore office, or as we say for Chinese Lunar year that we are celebrating here today: “Gong Xi Fa Cai.”