Recruiting in China

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority will give its staff a pay rise of 4.5 per cent this year - slightly more than the market average but less than that at the Securities and Futures Commission.

The city's de facto central bank announced all its staff would get a general increase of 4.5 per cent of their fixed salary, while 0.8 per cent was being set aside to reward good performers, with the increases for individual staff depending on performance.

The annual pay rise is effective from the HKMA's new financial year, which started on April 1.

Variable pay, equivalent to a bonus at private firms, averaging about 2.7 months' salary will be paid to staff according to their performance last year.

The HKMA's pay rise is in line with the 4.5 per cent inflation forecast by the government for Hong Kong this year.

It is, however, below the average pay rise of 5.5 per cent budgeted at the Securities and Futures Commission.

The HKMA's pay rise is higher than the 4.1 per cent given this year at 93 companies in nine industries surveyed by the Employers' Federation of Hong Kong in January.

Banks and financial services companies, which are regulated by the HKMA, awarded an average pay increase of 2.5 per cent.

Employees in property and construction got 5 per cent, the survey showed.

The HKMA's pay rise was determined by Financial Secretary John Tsang Chun-wah, who took into account a review by the governance subcommittee of the Exchange Fund Advisory Committee, market surveys of pay, as well as input from human resources consultants.