AI Issue 6 2017

Acquisition International - June 2017 7 Nearly 9 in 10 Companies Plan to Hire MBA Graduates in 2017 Globally, 86% of companies plan to hire recent MBA graduates this year, up from 79 % that hired them in 2016. Demand for these MBA graduates is strongest in the United States and Asia-Pacific, where 9 in 10 companies plan to hire these candidates. “Despite the political uncertainty about the status of immigration and work visas in the United States and other parts of the world, companies are keen to hire graduates from this year’s MBA and business master’s programs, including international candidates,” said Sangeet Chowfla, GMAC president and CEO. “This signifies the value these programs create for students and the vital role their skillsets bring employers.” At the time GMAC conducted the Corporate Recruiters Survey in early 2017, respondents in Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America and the United States declared their companies are staying the course with plans to hire international graduate business candidates. Overall, 59% of the survey respondents plan to hire or are willing to hire MBA and business master’s graduates requiring legal documentation - a gain of seven percentage points from 2016. Most U.S. companies (55%) either plan to hire (28%) or are open to hiring (27%) an international candidate in 2017 - up from 49% that had such plans last year. The technology industry in the U.S. is the most likely to hire international business graduates this year. Half of U.S. tech firms (50%) plan to hire such candidates in 2017 - up from 27% that planned to hire them last year. GMAC conducted the 16th annual Corporate Recruiters Survey in February and March 2017 together with survey partners EFMD and MBA Career Services & Employer Alliance (MBA CSEA), in association with 97 participating graduate business schools. Survey findings are based on responses from 959 employers representing more than 628 companies in 51 countries worldwide. Two additional organizations, CEMS and RelishMBA, assisted with recruitment of survey participants. As the outlook for MBA hiring continues to look bright, so do projected hiring trends for 2017 business master’s graduates, especially those with Master in Management and Master of Accounting degrees. • The largest increase in hiring demand compared with 2016 is seen in the share of companies that plan to hire Master in Management graduates; globally, 59% plan to hire recent Master in Management graduates, up nine percentage points from last year. • Notably, 70% of manufacturing companies plan to hire Master in Management graduates in 2017, up from 50% of companies that hired them in 2016. • Data analytics expertise continues to be in high demand. 69% of employers’ plan to place recent graduate business school hires into data analytics roles in 2017, just trailing marketing, business development, and finance roles - each with 71%. For the first time, this year’s survey report breaks out the responses specifically among start-up companies, revealing a promising 2017 hiring outlook for business school graduates. Three in 4 start-ups plan to hire recent MBA graduates in 2017, up from the 52% that hired them in 2016. More start-ups also plan to make 2017 hires from graduates of Master in Management (37%), Master of Accounting (23%), and Master of Finance (25%) programs. Globally, more than half of survey respondents (52 %) report that MBA base salaries will increase at (34%) or above (18%) the rate of inflation in 2017. Latin America (74 % of respondents) and Asia- Pacific (59%) have the greatest share of companies that plan to increase MBA salaries either at or above the rate of inflation this year. Most European and U.S. companies (57% and 51%, respectively) will maintain 2016 salary rates for new MBA hires in 2017. The projected median base starting salary for recent MBA graduates in the U.S. in 2017 is US$110,000, up from a median of US$105,000 in 2016. This represents an 83% premium over recent bachelor’s-degree holders in the U.S., who can expect to receive a median starting salary of US$60,000 in 2017. “Once again, this year’s report brings to light the continued value of theMBAdegree to themarketplace,” said Megan Hendricks, executive director of MBA CSEA. “The increased interest in specialty master’s talent provides further indication of the relevance of these programs at our member schools.” To download the full report, visit: gmac.com/ corporaterecruiters Corporate hiring plans for 2017 point to robust employment opportunities for graduates of MBA and business master’s programs, per a new employer survey report from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). On 18th May, HSBC Commercial Banking announced the appointment of Sheldon Wong as the new head of its expanding Middle Market Financial Sponsors (MMFS) team in Asia-Pacific, aiming to capitalise on the region’s growing level of mergers and acquisitions. As Head of MMFS Asia-Pacific, Wong will build on the success of HSBC’s MMFS South-East Asia unit, which he has led from Singapore since the six-strong team’s formation in January 2016. In his new role, he will manage and hire specialist bankers in leveraged and acquisition finance to support mid-size financial sponsors that raise local, regional or global private equity funds ranging from US$250m to US$3bn, and that seek to acquire companies with enterprise values from US$50m to US$500m. Commenting on his appointment, Sheldon Wong said: “Strengthening our support to mid-sized private equity investors will enable more of our clients to invest in great companies across the Asia-Pacific region, which in turn will help those companies grow faster. Given the growth in the number of private equity transactions in this region over the last few years, and how many of those deals involved mid-market financial sponsors, we see an exciting opportunity for our customers and for HSBC.” The new MMFS team will be responsible for coordinating the coverage, origination and execution of middle market, private equity-led transactions across the region. It will work closely with HSBC Structured Banking teams in each market, and with other MMFS teams globally, to ensure customers benefit from the full value of HSBC’s capabilities and international network. Wong has over 20 years’ experience in corporate and investment banking in Europe and Asia-Pacific, and joined HSBC in June 2014 as Head of Structured Banking in Singapore. Prior to HSBC, he worked in Hong Kong for 10 years as Head of Leveraged & Acquisition Finance Asia-Pacific for Unicredit. The Global MMFS business has teams in all the developed mid-market private equity markets globally, including EMEA and North America, working with both global and regional sponsors to both underwrite and hold opportunities alongside sponsors. HSBC Expands Asia-Pacific Mid-Market Leveraged Finance Team NEWS / From Around The World