Bumper year for Malaysia's finance workers

Kuala Lumpur

MALAYSIA'S strong economic growth and demand for specific skill sets boosted the salaries of bankers and finance professionals, enabling them to command the largest wage spikes of up to a fourth last year, according to a recent survey.

Talent in sales & marketing, logistics & warehousing and engineering also saw double-digit salary expansions but call-centre managers saw lower increases of between 5 per cent and 10 per cent, the Malaysia Salary Guide 2014/2015 released by Kelly Services Malaysia on Wednesday revealed. Wage increases were boosted by the emergence of new "hot-jobs" in growing sectors promoted by the government, including Islamic banking and finance where Malaysia is already the leading issuer of sukuk.