Strong Hong Kong dollar helps city rejoin world’s top 5 places with highest expat pay and benefits packages
Hong Kong has rejoined the world’s top five locations with the highest expatriate pay and benefits packages, despite remuneration dropping 2 per cent from 2021’s figures, a survey by a human resources consultancy has found.
The strength of the Hong Kong dollar countered the decrease in salary and benefits packages for expatriates, helping the city rise three places to rank fifth, according to the results released by ECA International on Wednesday.
Average expatriate pay packages in Hong Kong were estimated at more than HK$2.18 million (US$279,065) a year in 2022, while salaries dropped by US$2,400 and benefits by US$1,600. Britain topped the global list with expatriates making more than US$440,000 annually, followed by Japan, India and mainland China.
“The cost of benefits in Hong Kong remained unchanged in 2022, unlike many other [places] which saw significant increases, so the fall in salaries caused the overall package value to drop,” said Lee Quane, the agency’s regional director for Asia.
“However, the city was helped by the strength of the Hong Kong dollar, causing it to rise three places in the rankings as other countries saw the value of the package drop as their currencies weakened.”
He said decreasing salaries had put Hong Kong on a downward trend last year after experiencing a rise in total pay and benefits package costs in 2021.
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Expatriate salaries also decreased in Japan, South Korea, the mainland and Taiwan last year, while Singapore’s pay packages increased, placing the city state 16th.
Singapore had the highest rise in the cost of benefits in the region at 9 per cent, driven by an increase in rent.
ECA surveyed more than 10,000 expatriate staff members from 340 companies in 140 countries and cities in late 2022.
The mainland retained its third-place ranking in Asia despite salaries dropping by 5 per cent in 2022.
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“The yuan strengthened against most major currencies compared to 2021 and as many expatriates are paid some or all of their salary in other currencies, this caused the average expat salary in yuan to fall,” Quane explained.
The Chinese currency weakened against the United States dollar in 2022, with the exchange rate of yuan per US dollar going from 6.37 at the beginning of 2022 to 6.98 at the end of the year.
In Japan, average pay and benefits packages for expats were the highest in Asia at US$370,183 a year, with a 5 per cent increase in local currency terms.
But the overall value of packages dipped by 12 per cent compared with 2021 because of the weak Japanese yen against the US dollar.
