Hong Kong loses out to mainland China, Singapore when it comes to marketing, financial sector pay, survey shows
- Senior sales and marketing managers in China paid at least double than their Hong Kong counterparts
- Poll finds mental health a concern but shows money is what counts when it comes to changing jobs
If you are a sales and marketing manager with more than 10 years of experience, then mainland China is where you should be. Average salaries there are at least double that of Hong Kong, according to a survey by recruitment firm Links International.
The study polled more than 700 respondents in Hong Kong, mainland China and Singapore. It found the average monthly salary for general managers working in sales and marketing on the mainland was between 200,000 yuan (US$29,769) and 300,000 yuan. Their counterparts in Hong Kong received HK$100,000 (US$12,749) per month.
The figures refer to base salaries, which means actual pay might be a lot higher. There was a big jump in salaries for these roles in mainland China last year. Average monthly pay stood at 150,000 yuan in 2018, an increase of between 33 per cent and 100 per cent from last year to this year.
The main reason for the difference in salaries was that many multinational companies have moved regional offices to mainland China.
Keith Wong, country director for Hong Kong and Singapore at Links International, said: “Hong Kong has historically been the multinational regional hub, but nowadays a lot of Hong Kong offices don’t cover the China market, contributing to the decline in the number of senior roles.”
The lack of large home-grown internet companies in Hong Kong is also to blame. The mainland’s internet sector has grown by leaps and bounds, and senior roles are very well paid.
“The pay at internet companies on the mainland is really high. Hong Kong doesn’t have that many large-scale companies in this sector. But the salary from industry to industry also varies a lot,” said Daisy Li, a Shanghai-based recruiter.
Other senior roles in sales and marketing also offered higher salaries in mainland China. Marketing directors with more than 12 years of experience can expect a monthly salary of between 100,000 yuan and 150,000 yuan, while their counterparts in Hong Kong receive HK$50,000 to HK$80,000.
For marketing managers with more than five years in the industry, the upper end is 70,000 yuan. In Hong Kong, they can expect HK$55,000.
The special administrative region fares better when it comes to salaries in banking and financial services, its mainstay industry. For heads of operations in this sector, the average monthly salary is more than HK$120,000, while their counterparts in mainland China earn more than 80,000 yuan a month. Singapore leads Asia with an average monthly salary of SG$25,000 (US$18,508) for such roles.
As far as mental health was concerned, the study found that 73 per cent of respondents felt stressed at work, of which 6 per cent felt they were always under stress. The physical or mental health of more than half was negatively affected by work stress.
Yet money was what counted when it came to changing jobs. Only 12 per cent of survey participants would change roles for a better work-life balance, yet about 40 per cent would leave their jobs for a higher salary.