People walk through Exchange Square in the Central district of Hong Kong on July 26, 2021. (ISAAC LAWRENCE / AFP)
HONG KONG – Employers paid less to expatriates in Hong Kong last year due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but the city remained one of the five most expensive places in the world to send employees, according to the latest survey by ECA International.
READ MORE: Survey: HK remains world's most expensive place for expats
Expatriate pay packages in Hong Kong dropped by more than US$5,000 in 2020 to US$279,399 on average, according to the survey, which was released Wednesday. This ranked the fifth in the world and the fourth in Asia, following Japan, India and the Chinese mainland.
Expatriate pay packages in Hong Kong dropped by more than US$5,000 in 2020 to US$279,399 on average, according to the survey
The findings were based on a poll of over 300 companies covering 160 countries and regions and over 10,000 expatriates.
Pay packages for expatriates cover three main elements – cash salary, benefits such as accommodation, international schools, utilities or cars, and tax. The survey showed that cash salaries for expatriates in Hong Kong remained flat.
“The ongoing effects of COVID-19 were felt by many major economies in 2020 and this meant that the cost of overall expat pay packages dropped in over half of the nations included in our rankings,” said Lee Quane, regional director for Asia at the international expatriate management firm.
While cash salaries for expatriates in Hong Kong rose less than 1 percent, employers benefited from lower accommodation costs in the city and were able to reduce the level of financial support for housing compared to that provided to their predecessors, he said.
Expatriate pay packages also fell notably on the Chinese mainland in 2020, by US$17,762 on average. Cash salaries of expatriates on the mainland dropped by nearly US$3,000 from 2019, while the value of benefits provided declined by over US$8,000.
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Bucking the trend, the cost of employing a mid-level overseas worker in Taiwan increased by US$10,733 last year, making it to the top 10 most expensive locations globally for the first time. The cost of benefits saw the most significant rise, up over US$6,500 on average. The situation reflects the steep rise in rents which the firm believes is a result of the city’s effective control of coronavirus infections.
suzihan@chinadailyhk.com