Chinese languages climbing up the ranks of City’s most spoken
CHINESE is rapidly climbing the ranks of the most common languages spoken in the City of London, as the UK looks to capitalise on an expansion of the country’s financial sector, according to new research.
Mandarin Chinese was the fourth most quoted language on City CVs during 2013, up from 8th place in the previous year, according to a report this morning by recruitment firm Astbury Marsden.
Cantonese was in the top 10 for the first time last year, shooting into sixth place. German, Indian languages, Russian, Arabic and Portuguese all slipped down the list marginally, while French held the top spot once again.
Late last year, chancellor George Osborne negotiated an agreement with the Chinese government to allow Chinese banks to launch London arms, and for renminbi-sterling trading to be permitted. The capital is competing with other world cities for Chinese financial business, attempting to capitalise on the nascent sector.
“London is well equipped to achieve this as it is already home to a burgeoning business in renminbi financial services and products such as trade finance and foreign exchange,” said Astbury Marsden’s Jonathan Nicholson.