Recruiting in China

According to a new wage survey published in Shanghai recently, professionals and executives with foreign enterprises in China saw their salaries rise by nearly 7 per cent on average last year.

The survey published recently by the international Hewitt Associate Consulting Corp, included 800 foreign firms in major cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, and also many secondary cities in China.

According to Qi Xu, a senior consultant for Hewitt, only 7 per cent of the firms said salaries did not rise in 2003. Four percent said salaries would probably remain the same in 2004. According it Qi Xu, "Such a drastic increase rate is an epitome of foreign enterprises' confidence in investing in China.¡± Throughout China, Shanghai toted up the highest wage hikes at 8.3 percent with both Beijing and Guangzhou following at about 7.5 percent. According to the survey, the annual per-capita income of a senior executive in a foreign enterprise in China is 645,000 RMB (approx. US$77,700). A mid-level executive makes by comparison 297,000 RMB (approx. US$35,780).

To give an example of the spread in salaries in a foreign firm in China, a professional employee could earn an annual salary of approximately 100,000 RMB (approx. US$12,000) while a factory worker or an ordinary employee could expect about 36,000 RMB (approx US$4,340).

Qi attributed the increase to ¡°the increasing pressure on foreign firms to draw talent, foreign enterprises in China had to keep the percentage of volatile salary and long-term encouragement rewards in their salary systems.'' He also stated that "The growing salaries in foreign enterprises also reflect the soaring direct investment in China¡±.

In 2003, despite SARS and other concerns, more and more multinational firms and global research organizations entered China. Many foreign firms have moved their China headquarters from Hong Kong or elsewhere to Beijing and a larger number are choosing Shanghai according to most reports. By early 2004, the number of foreign firms in China had increased to 468,200 with a total investment of US$953.3 billion and actual investment of US$505.55 billion.