Recruiting has started for a joint venture in Tokyo between the Tokyo and London stock exchanges that will offer a funding option for smaller companies .

A spokesman for the Tokyo Stock Exchange told us that the new market will need staff to monitor nominated advisors and transactions, as well as people to market the venture. The as yet unamed exchange, which will open early next year will also want managers to vet applications for prospective members of the market.

Although the exact number of staff is yet to be announced, the spokesman says all start-up staff for the new venture will be sent from the TSE and London Stock Exchange. But he adds if the new venture expands successfully, it may look to hire additional staff externally at a later date.

Should that happen, Kyoungjin Lim at Pinnacle Consulting says the new market will have no problems recruiting. “Now is a good time for recruiting professionals, including traders, in the finance industry. Many big, foreign i-banks in Tokyo have been cutting jobs since early this year and many people are back in the market,” Lim says.

Another Tokyo recruiter, who wished to remained unnamed, says “there would certainly seem to be a glut of talent coming onto the market over the coming months, so I imagine that LSE will be able to attract some quality people.”

And Lim suggests bilingual candidates will be most in demand. “The TSE is a Japanese-speaking environment and foreign i-banks are seeking Japanese speaking people for roles which require communication with the TSE,” she says.