Asia is showing the first signs of renewed recruitment in commodities. Hiring hasn't reached 2007-boom levels and is still focused at the senior end, but the big banks are clearly taking the sector seriously again.

“Commodities is one of the first functions to recover at the investment banks. It’s not yet mass hiring, but there’s been a palatable improvement in the last month or so,” comments Gayathri Santhirasegaran, senior consultant, Commodity Appointments.

Citi, for example, has recently hired 20 people in commodities across Asia and will be “adding to support further growth from client flows,” says a spokesman for the firm.

The bank has recruited in agriculture, coal, freight, emissions and LNG, he adds. “We'll be expanding our physical commodities capabilities selectively in areas where they complement our trading and banking businesses.”

JP Morgan - another major Asian commodities player with its main team based in Singapore - has been recruiting in similar numbers to Citi.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch has hired five executives - including Peter Beaumont, formerly from UBS - for Asia-Pacific commodities, according to a statement from the bank.

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Barclays are also on the hunt, although their vacancies are often for replacement roles because their commodities departments are already sizable.

State of the market

Hiring in the sector is picking up on the back of a 29 per cent rise in global commodities prices in 2009, as measured by the Standard & Poor’s GSCI Index.

Recruitment firm Robert Walters has handled about 100 commodity-related roles in Asia Pacific so far this year, compared with about 200 cases in all of 2007. Hiring fell in 2008 due to a price slump in commodities.

But the employment market is still slow at the junior end and firms generally prefer to poach experienced commodities specialists. Recruiting unemployed professionals or training bankers from other job functions are not on the cards.

“Banks mainly want senior people with a proven track record from established firms. They will hire a team leader first, monitor the performance, and then recruit more people in the future if they need to,” explains Santhirasegaran.

Stanley Teo, a director at Profile Search & Selection, adds: “Banks are looking to add quality headcount in commodities, but at a senior level finding the right staff can be challenging.”

Faced with a small banking-sector commodities talent pool in Asia, firms are sometimes forced to headhunt outside the region, or recruit from trading houses and commodities companies (such as the oil majors).

While oil experts are always in demand, soft commodities, metals and mining professionals are now increasingly sought after, says Teo.

Sector knowledge is critical to any commodities job, which makes it difficult to switch coverage industries. “The era of the multi-tasking trader is over. Banks are very specific in their requirements,” says Santhirasegaran.

She adds that most commodities openings are for revenue-generating trading, sales and marketing roles. “There are fewer research positions around.”