United Overseas Bank (UOB) to offer 2000 jobs in 2011

United Overseas Bank (UOB) will be looking to fill 1,500 to 2,000 new jobs this year as the third largest bank in Singapore goes on a “hiring and investment blitz”.

According to The Business Times (BT), the new hires will be for the bank’s sales divisions in Singapore, as well as Southeast Asia (SEA). UOB’s current staff strength is slightly more than 21,000, with about 500 relationship managers based locally.

The bank has over 500 outlets in this region, including 72 in Singapore, 214 in Indonesia and 46 in Malaysia.

Wee Ee Cheong, the UOB’s deputy chairman and chief executive, said the bank will also be spending S$500 million over the next three years on technology as they continue developing their integrated regional platform.

Singapore’s banking and finance industry can also expect more gains this year. The country recently topped a survey by financial services recruitment firm Astbury Marsden as Londoners’ most preferred location for banking jobs.

Yeo Lai Mun, Deutsche Bank’s head of human resources in Singapore, told BT Singapore’s proximity to the other growth markets in the region has made the country the ideal location to gain experience in regional investment banking.

More than a quarter (27%) of 300 bankers across a range of expertise including corporate finance, and mergers and acquisitions from London picked Singapore as their favourite location.

Mark Cameron, chief operating officer of Astbury, said SEA’s “highly competitive tax rates and exciting career opportunities” could be causing London to lose its appeal. He added some of the hedge funds and trading desks have already left London for the Asian region.

Sources and references: Human Resources Online, Topics: United Overseas Bank (UOB), Jobs, Hiring