The call for financial talent has become a matter of urgency for Beijing, with news that nine job vacancies are now competing for one professional and the situation may get worse.

Since most financial companies are located in large cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, the talent hunt there is especially intense, according to a report issued by bankhr.com, a leading recruitment website in the financial sector.

"The supply-demand ratio for high-level financial professionals is 1:9 in those cities and will be 1:11 in the second half of the year," said Bao Hua, an operating manager of bankhr.com.

Compared to the same period last year, the demand for financial talent increased by 55.3 percent nationwide in the first half of 2010.

The top five financial positions in terms of a rise in demand were stockbrokers, futures managers, fund managers, client managers at banks and investment managers.

The demand for stockbrokers has risen by 141.5 percent compared to the same period last year.

"In China, we are observing growing pressure on supply," said Eva Lu, senior consultant at Antal International, one of the first recruitment organizations in emerging markets.

"The restart of the IPO in China is one of the most important factors pushing this rise in demand because it has reinvigorated many sectors of the financial industry, such as stocks, funds and PE," she said.

"In addition, poor liquidity of talents and a lack of qualified candidates also contributes to the problem."

A fund manager will usually be asked to sign at least a one-year contract with an employer to prevent them from job-hopping, Lu said.

Methods considered as ways to relieve supply pressure include finding talent in related industries, investing money and time on training newcomers, and searching for overseas professionals directly.

Wei Jiayi, a senior manager at Everbright Futures Co, told METRO his company has expanded its enrollment quota this year, but recruitment will be a challenge.

"We can't find enough qualified people, especially experienced professionals. This is not just a problem we are seeing this year," Wei said.

"The financial industry is growing quickly but the talent pool is lagging far behind."

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