In Singapore, boutique fund manager Hsieh Fu Hua, a veteran of three decades in the city's financial industry, took the top job at the exchange on Mar. 1.

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Priyanka Kuncha, a manager at the Fabulous Boutique on MacDougal Street, which sells tobacco-related paraphernalia, said she was conflicted about the issue.

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"Workers with little to no experience are overlooked in China, but we find they're like sponges, absorbing quickly and willingly, " says Anthony Ross, general manager of The Opposite House, Swire's boutique hotel in Beijing.

WSJ: China's Fickle Talent Pool