Officials from Shanghai, China's financial hub, will travel to the US and Europe this month on a recruiting mission, potentially offering jobs to fund managers, policy analysts and others left jobless by the financial crisis.

Wu Jianrong, deputy director of the Shanghai Financial Service Office, told the official Xinhua news agency on Friday that the delegation would go to London, Chicago and New York in search of employees.

Financial institutions in Shanghai listed more than 170 vacancies specifically for foreigners as of Nov. 19, Xinhua quoted Sheng Yuruo, the office's human resources head, as saying.

Thousands of investment banking jobs have been axed on Wall Street and in the City of London as the global financial crisis has pushed some of the industry's biggest names into bankruptcy or buyouts.

Shanghai hopes to recruit specialists in such areas as risk management and control, asset management, product research and development, macroeconomics and policy analysis, the Xinhua report said.

Institutions looking for staff include the China Financial Futures Exchange, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Shanghai Futures Exchange, securities agencies, insurance companies and banks, it added.

Mr Sheng said detailed information would be available on the websites sjr.sh.gov.cn, 21cnhr.gov.cn and www.sh.xinhuanet.com.