Mr. Shangkong | Pay trends point to greener pastures across the border
The brisker pace of salary growth on the mainland will soon leave arguments about higher base levels in HK looking in need of work
Every year at this time, many people will begin to think about the same thing - how big a pay rise can I expect for the coming year?
In recent years, salaries on the mainland, especially in some major industries such as finance, property and technology, have been catching up with Hong Kong levels. Of course, there is still a gap, but it is getting narrower every year, partly thanks to bigger rises on the mainland, and barring surprises, this trend will continue for the coming year.
A recent survey released by human resources consultancy Towers Watson shows salaries on the mainland are predicted to rise 8.5 per cent next year, compared with an estimated 4.5 per cent for employees in Hong Kong. This is in line with an estimate by the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management, which expects Hong Kong employers to give 4.4 per cent pay rises on average for the coming year.
In fact, if the numbers are proved to be correct, I would say it means no pay rise for Hong Kong employees in real terms if you take the city's inflation growth into consideration.
On the other hand, given the widely accepted view for a stronger yuan and a weaker Hong Kong dollar for the years to come, at some point, the gap in average salary levels between the mainland and Hong Kong will come to an end - or even reverse.
In some businesses, it may already be happening.
According to my intelligence on the financial job market in Shanghai, a major foreign bank recently decided to hire a corporate affairs department head for its China headquarters in the city. The foreign bank offered the position at a salary of about 50,000 yuan after tax per month.