Hong Kong bankers and brokers see their bonuses fall by a fifth after dismal year for stock markets
- The bonuses paid to many bankers at the start of the Year of the Pig was down by about 20 per cent from a year earlier, according to senior bankers
- Some brokers had to make do with lai see containing a few thousand Hong Kong dollars instead of a bonus
If Hong Kong’s bankers and stockbrokers were hoping to bring home some extra bacon as the Year of the Pig got under way, they may have been disappointed.
According to industry experts, they received smaller bonuses than usual thanks to the dismal performance of the stock market in 2018.
Chinese companies traditionally dish out their bonuses before or at the beginning of the Lunar New Year, which this year falls on February 5. The bonuses paid to many bankers heading into the Year of the Pig was down by about a fifth from a year earlier, when the Year of the Dog kicked off, according to several senior bankers contacted by the Post.
Christopher Cheung Wah-fung, a lawmaker for the financial services sector, who is also a broker, said that instead of a bonus many local brokers this year would have to make do with a lai see – a red envelope containing a more modest sum of money and meant to convey good fortune in Chinese tradition.
“Some local brokers are not paying out a bonus at all but only giving out a big red pocket of lai see of about HK$1,000 or a few thousand dollars to their staff as a token. This is a big contrast to a year earlier when many firms could afford several months’ salary as a bonus for high performance,” said Cheung.