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Hong Kong, Singapore and China Real Estate Salaries
The general theme for salary in Asia is restraint; over half of our respondents have had no salary increases with 1 in 10 reporting pay cuts.
There are nuances trying to identify salary trends across the region, but we are certainly seeing the effects of the pandemic being felt more acutely in city centres where salaries will have been impacted for service providers.
Salaries in Hong Kong and Singapore therefore, which are dominated by offices, shopping centres and hotels have suffered in comparison to China, which has seen less lockdown disruption, an enviable GDP growth rate and has benefited from the rise in online shopping and the capacity for investment into logistics and data centres.
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William Glover, Managing Director - Asia
Key Asia Salary Findings
US $ 9,455
mean monthly salary across Hong Kong, Singapore and China
45%
reduction in those receiving a salary rise since Covid-19
36%
regional gender pay gap
Average Base Salaries in Asia
by Sector (Median)
Search a salary
Architecture / Design
Median HK $
48000
(Mean) HK $
61531
Bank
Median HK $
69667
(Mean) HK $
92775
Construction
Median HK $
48000
(Mean) HK $
54613
Developer
Median HK $
65000
(Mean) HK $
82153
Investor / Fund / REIT
Median HK $
83333
(Mean) HK $
95012
Occupier
Median HK $
70000
(Mean) HK $
73000
Service Provider / Consultancy
Median HK $
50000
(Mean) HK $
65093
Architecture / Design
Median S $
10000
(Mean) S $
10208
Bank
Median S $
11667
(Mean) S $
13971
Construction
Median S $
10458
(Mean) S $
7142
Developer
Median S $
12848
(Mean) S $
9834
Investor / Fund / REIT
Median S $
14413
(Mean) S $
12000
Occupier
Median S $
10172
(Mean) S $
7913
Service Provider / Consultancy
Median S $
12074
(Mean) S $
10000
Architecture / Design
Median RMB ¥
58000
(Mean) RMB ¥
53571
Bank
Median RMB ¥
66667
(Mean) RMB ¥
65556
Construction
Median RMB ¥
36500
(Mean) RMB ¥
44964
Developer
Median RMB ¥
45000
(Mean) RMB ¥
63456
Investor / Fund / REIT
Median RMB ¥
50000
(Mean) RMB ¥
92481
Occupier
Median RMB ¥
50000
(Mean) RMB ¥
53185
Service Provider / Consultancy
Median RMB ¥
45417
(Mean) RMB ¥
56299
Architecture / Design
Mean US $
7968
Bank
Mean US $
10874
Construction
Mean US $
7291
Developer
Mean US $
9290
Investor / Fund / REIT
Mean US $
12467
Occupier
Mean US $
8432
Service Provider / Consultancy
Mean US $
8731
Average salaries by Asset Class, by Location
Salaries vary across areas, with Hospitality and Retail the highest paying in Hong Kong, along with Office and Commercial assets.
*conversions from local currencies to USD on 07.01.21.
William Buck, Managing Director - Singapore
How Real Estate will measure up in Asia
Singapore has experience much the same kind of impact in 2020 as its rival city state in Northern Asia. Like Hong Kong, the loss of tourists has seen a collapse of sales in the usual tourist haunts of Orchard Road, the desertion of many hotels apart from value hunting ‘staycationers’ and long periods of restriction for F&B establishments.
In the circumstances, it is a tribute to the flexibility and connectivity of the region that there has been a steady hum of activity throughout the year. We have been kept very busy with South East Asian developers, particularly with their projects in China and our private equity and investment clients who probably delayed a lot of hiring until the end of the year. A significant change in the Singapore Real Estate market is that it is becoming the HQ location of choice for many. A number of Real Estate Services providers have relocated HQ to Singapore. Similarly in the Investment world, REIT listings in the Region and new PERE Funds are much more likely to be domiciled in Singapore due the strong regulatory system, tax structure and ease of set-up.
Above all, the growth market of the year has to be in data centres. Macdonald & Company enjoyed a fantastic interview on our Careers podcast series with the founder of Princeton (listen here), a prime example of the fast-growing developers in this space.
Changes to base salary by demographic, before and after Covid-19
45.3% less professionals received a pay rise since Covid-19, with those aged 46-65 more likely to have had a pay cut.
Reason for base salary increase, before and after COVID-19
Changing employers became the main reason for salary increases as the number who have been promoted or have received an increase from annual pay reviews has reduced since the pandemic.
Employees are relatively understanding about conditions and are not pushing for outsize awards this year, so I expect pay rises to be around inflation. There are always exceptions that must be attended to: promotions, people who missed out last year and parts of the business that did exceptionally well and produced outstanding results, but employers are remaining cautious.
William Glover, Managing Director – Asia
Average annual salary by Age Group, per Location
Salaries across Asia peak for the 46-55 age group.
We’re pleased to see progress and recognition of the gender pay disparity in Hong Kong, and hope to see the gap close in the future – particularly for China and Singapore. China has shown a significant salary increment compared to Singapore and Hong Kong, for both males and females. This reflects the domestic job market remaining strong despite the global pandemic impact. We notice that the gender pay gap tends to be wider with developers while it is much closer for funds.
Vivian Qin, Director – Hong Kong & China
Year-on-year average salaries in Asia, by Industry
Architecture / Design and Bank sector salaries appear to have bounced back in Asia, with the Occupier sector showing a steady rise.
William Buck, Managing Director - Singapore 
