Overseas talent working on China's mainland saw their salaries
grow over the past year - a result of the country's shortage of
high-level native professionals.
The study, conducted by the international human resources
service company Hewitt Associates, profiled 551 positions of people
coming from Western countries, Singapore, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and
other Asian regions, foreigners hired on the Chinese mainland and
Chinese who have worked overseas but returned.
The group with the highest percentage increase in salaries were
top executive-level Chinese who returned from overseas and managed
a rise of 9.4 percent from four percent for the previous year.
Westerners in senior executive positions - including Europeans,
Canadians and Americans - overtook last year's top pay group from
Hong Kong and Singapore to lead the cash race with an average
US$393,743 per annum.
Hong Kong and Singapore professionals came next earning an
average US$354,249 each year.
Foreign executives hired on the Chinese mainland, rather than
those assigned by overseas companies, were paid an average of
US$331,693, the study reported.
Michael Song, head of Hewitt's China compensation and benefits
measurement consulting practice, said pay increases had been
spurred by China's shortage of senior executives.
"China has experienced tremendous growth in recent years.
However, this has led to shortages within the talent market and a
frustrating gap in leadership," Song said.
As a result, he added, many organizations were turning to
overseas talent to fill the gap.
The study revealed that 55 percent of the 142 participating
organizations planned to increase the number of expats hired next
year, slightly higher than the 53 percent for last year.
European and American expats are no longer the largest expat
group in China, representing just 21 percent of all expats this
year. Last year they made up 25 percent and in 2005 were nearly 31
percent.
The Japanese form the largest nationality group of the 119,876
overseas people working in Shanghai, Hewitt analysts said.
A salary report released by Hewitt last month showed that
salaries for Chinese staff rose by an average eight percent this
year.
Taihe Consulting, one of the largest HR service providers in
China, reported last year that Chinese professionals at corporate
decision-making levels earned between 500,000 yuan (US$67,567) and
600,000 yuan on average per year.
(Shanghai Daily, December 6, 2007)