Average cost of hiring an expat in Singapore fell last year: poll

Singapore

THE average cost of employing an expatriate in Singapore shrank by more than US$12,000 between 2016 and 2017.

This brought the value of a typical annual compensation and benefits package for an expatriate middle-manager in Singapore last year to US$223,095, from US$235,545 the year before.

In Japan, which tops the global ranking, the total pay package for an expatriate is US$356,224.

These were among the findings of the latest MyExpatriate Market Pay survey published annually by ECA International, an information and software provider in the management and assignment of employees around the world.

Regional director Lee Quane attributed the trend in Singapore to two factors:

One is the increasing number of expatriates from lower-salary locations, a change from when expatriates in Singapore used to come from high-salary locations such as Europe, North America, Japan and Australia.

Mr Quane added: "The second factor is the tenure of employment. More expatriates are being employed in Singapore on a permanent basis. As a result, they are often provided a cash salary in line with what would be offered to Singaporeans."

Although Singapore registered one of the most dramatic falls in expat costs in Asia, the city-state remains one of 20 most expensive countries in terms of the cost of employing expatriate staff, despite having very low personal tax rates.

Malaysia saw an even bigger drop - US$17,188 - to the average expatriate pay package, keeping it at the bottom of the list of 40 locations.

This brings the average cost of employing an expatriate at a middle-manager level in Malaysia to US$150,868, less than half of what it would cost to send an expatriate to Japan.

Mr Quane said: "As Malaysia has much cheaper accommodation costs than its Asian neighbours and relatively low levels of tax, it sits at the bottom of the rankings."

Elsewhere in Asia, expatriate pay packages in Hong Kong rose in 2017, after having hit a five-year low in 2016. The value of a typical expatriate pay package in Hong Kong is now US$268,514, up slightly by US$3,027.

In contrast, the average pay package of expatriates in China has fallen by around US$6,000 to US$276,387, with the gap continuing to narrow between expatriates in Hong Kong and those on the mainland.

Mr Quane said this is a result of exchange rate movements as the Hong Kong dollar strengthened against the Chinese yuan. China still ranks higher and is the fourth most expensive place in the world for a company to employ expatriates.

In Europe, the UK has become significantly cheaper for companies to send staff to from abroad, slipping behind Japan in the rankings, given the weakness in the pound sterling.

The total expatriate pay package in the UK stood at US$344,508, below Japan's US$356,224 last year.