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TRENDS                                                                        April 2004 Issue

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Salaries Seeing a Thaw?

After two consecutive years of downward pressure, the Pay Trend Survey turned into positive territory in January. Conducted by the Hong Kong Institute of Human Resource Management (HKIHRM), the overall average pay adjustment recorded for the 55 companies surveyed was just less than 1 percent. Of these companies, the pay freeze still seems to be the trend. A total of 91 percent or 71,013 surveyed employees said their salary had been frozen this year. The 8.6 percent who had a salary increase were generally awarded pay rises ranging from 1.0 to 1.9 percent. "We believe that pay-for-performance is the trend to going forward. The practice is instrumental for enhancing business flexibility and building a fair and open reward system to motivate staff and retain talent," said Lai Kam-tong, co-chairperson of the HKIHRM Remuneration Committee.


Economic Confidence on the Up

trends2.jpg (14317 bytes)Hongkongers continue to feel better about their quality of life and economic prospects, the latest survey by the Hong Kong Policy Research Institute shows. The public's mood towards the Mainland, however, has swung from overwhelmingly positive just a few months ago, to slightly negative in the latest poll.

January 2004 February 2004 Changes (%)
Major Consumption Decision 58.6 Points 60.3 Points 2.9
Family Financial Well-being 78.1 Points 82.9 Points 6.1
Maintenance of Livelihood 64.4 Points 71.6 Points 11.1
Improvement on Unemployment 108.2 Points 115.2 Points 6.4
Economic Prospect of Hong Kong 89.1 Points 89.9 Points 0.8
Economic Prospect of Mainland China 129.0 Points 124.3 Points -3.6
China-Hong Kong Economic Relations 143.6 Points 133.3 Points -7.2
Stock Market 102.2 Points 102.3 Points 0.1
Property Market 112.2 Points 122.0 Points 8.7
Satisfaction with Quality of Life 94.0 Points 103.7 Points 10.3
Change of Quality of Life 89.0 Points 93.8 Points 5.4

Note: The maximum of a confidence index is 200 points, whereas the minimum is 0.       

Outsourcing HR Functions Slow to Catch on in Greater China

Fewer Asian firms are outsourcing their HR functions or using shared service centers, according to the 2003/2004 Greater China eHR Survey Report by Watson Wyatt. The survey found that 93 percent of surveyed employers have adopted company intranets primarily to post static HR information, such as policies and procedures. According to the survey results, only 5 percent of respondents outsource their payroll function. By comparison, 18 percent of companies in Australia outsource their payroll. The most commonly outsourced function in Greater China is retirement fund administration, with 10 percent of respondents reporting they do so.


PRD, YRD Create a Bigger Pie

trends1.jpg (10801 bytes)The Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region and the Pearl River Delta River (PRD) region complement each other and make for a bigger China market, rather than compete against each other, according to a TDC study. The two regions together account for over 50 percent of FDI into China. TDC's Chief Economist Edward Leung says the economic growth taking place in the YRD is not occurring at the expense of the PRD even though there is some overlapping. "Given the differences in demand of the two regions, Hong Kong companies would need to locate in more than one place and have different business strategies in order to cover these regional markets. It is not a zero sum game. Each region has its own strengths and business advantages.

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