Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- If that corner office at a financial firm on New York 's Wall Street or at London 's Canary Wharf has been illusory , then a Victoria Harbor view from Hong Kong 's skyscraper skyline may be the place to find yourself in a few years . That 's because the Asian city looks set to become the center of the Earth when it comes to jobs in the financial sector . CEBR , the London-based economics consultancy , recently forecast Hong Kong will have more financial services jobs than New York or London by 2016 , with some 262,000 positions . The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales ( ICAEW ) also gives its endorsement , saying Hong Kong will be the world 's premier financial job center by 2017 , with 275,000 positions . Believable or bizarre ? `` It 's three years from now , but it 's believable , '' says Brian Lim , director of Value Search Asia , a Hong Kong-based boutique headhunting firm focused on the banking and financial sectors . `` Asian opportunities are going to be a lot more stable . ( The employment market ) has been slow because of the European and U.S. economic crises -- not because of major issues from our side . '' Lim says he does expect continued job volatility on the so-called `` sale side '' of the financial industry , which includes investment banking , because of sensitivity to market gyrations . But he already sees more hiring on the less-market sensitive `` buy side , '' which includes asset and wealth fund management . But other search firms find recent job market forecasts far-fetched . `` I think it 's bizarre , '' says Jonathon Hollands , Managing Director of Carraway Group , a financial and corporate headhunting firm headquartered in Hong Kong . As the global economy has slowed over the past few years `` Hong Kong is shedding jobs . '' This past September , HSBC finished its planned Hong Kong layoffs by eliminating 3,000 staff from its workforce in the city -- part of a global restructuring to cut an astounding 30,000 jobs around the world . Earlier this month , Barclays announced it will cut up to 2,000 jobs with many of those losses coming out of Asia and Europe . Hollands expects even more job losses in Hong Kong are `` still to come . '' As proof , Hollands cites a steep drop-off in recruitment requests from global banks based in Hong Kong . He declines to name them but says they are easy to guess . `` The amount they spend on recruiters is 80-100 % down . They have n't spent anything on headhunters in the past year . '' Still , CEBR 's Chief Executive Douglas McWilliams is preaching the message that Hong Kong will boast the most financial jobs by 2016 . He says it is `` inevitable as a result of the world 's changing economic geography . `` And Hong Kong will be boosted by the internationalization of the renminbi ( China 's currency ) . But we have accelerated the ( West-to-East job ) shift through short-sighted overregulation , penal taxation and banker bashing . '' Despite those reasons , financial executives from the West will not necessarily secure a new job in the East . Three Ls . Language ability , links across Asia and localization are prime deciding factors for the success of a financial services job seeker . `` 'How good is your Mandarin ? ' is one of the first questions you will be asked , '' says Carraway Group 's Hollands . `` Mainland China 's market has been badly serviced by private banks '' and opportunities exist if you can speak the language . The second question will be about the strength of your regional relationships across Asia . `` People have to have relationships -- not just from doing well in the front office but to asset management and private wealth management in particular , '' says Hollands . `` The longer one has lived in China , the better . The best is if you 've grown up here . '' `` ( Financial services firms ) are getting people who understand the local markets , '' adds Lim of Value Search Asia . `` They will hire a Korean to cover Korean markets , Chinese to cover the PRC . We do see a large inflow of European and U.S. bankers ( seeking jobs ) , but ( they are ) finding it very difficult to get a job here because they do n't understand the local markets . It 's a safer bet to pick someone local . '' A third question correlates with culture -- literally how far are you willing to go to give `` face . '' `` I recently had a qualified candidate lose out , '' says Hollands . `` He is a Korean national who had lived in Hong Kong but is currently based in Los Angeles . The guy who got the job is a local Hong Konger , and he 's here . He had a face-to-face-interview . A phone call or a video call just is n't the same . '' `` Being here gets you 70 % of the way . '' Looking ahead two years , the decision to relocate from West to East hinges on whether you believe financial jobs will be easier to find in Hong Kong -- as opposed to London or New York -- and whether you believe you are that much better than the competition .
They suggest Hong Kong could become the world 's financial capital in terms of jobs . Many are expected to be on ` ` the side '' of industry , in finance and wealth fund management . They expect more job volatility on ` ` sale side , '' which includes investment banking . Local knowledge , language skills increasingly important in Asian market .