Why is Hong Kong an Attractive Place to Work for Professionals?
Hong Kong has long been an attractive place for working professionals looking to grow their careers. Asia’s World City offers some of the world’s highest salaries and consistently ranks in the top 10 countries for expats to earn more money.
Hong Kong Expat Salary is Amongst the Highest in the World
Hong Kong also has one of the world’s lowest-income tax rates, with the highest tax bracket at only 17%. There are no capital gains tax, dividend tax, inheritance tax, or income earned overseas tax making it an even more attractive place for corporate professionals.
| Net Chargeable Income | Tax rate |
| 1 – 50,000 HKD | 2% |
| 50,001 – 100,000 HKD | 6% |
| 100,001 – 150,000 HKD | 10% |
| 150,001 – 200,000 HKD | 14% |
| Above 200,000 HKD | 17% |
| Tax Rate on Capital Gains | 0% |
| Tax Rate on Income Earned Overseas | 0% |
| Tax Rate on Dividends from a Hong Kong Company | 0% |
With all these positive aspects coming into play, it comes to no surprise that Hong Kong has one of the world’s most affluent populations. As a perfect place that offers so many opportunities for its people, we explore some of the top-paying jobs in the city.
Top Paying Jobs:
Portfolio Manager – Banking & Finance
Portfolio managers are responsible for managing investment portfolios and planning the fund’s investment strategies. They are required to spend time researching and analysing current events that can affect financial markets. Managers are tasked with sifting through information and determining which securities to buy and sell.
With 8+ years of experience, a portfolio manager’s salary normally ranges between 2 to 4.5 Million HKD annually.
General Counsel
Specialists in law are always amongst the best-paid professionals around the world. Lawyers dedicate their careers to understanding legislation and the General Counsel is the main attorney providing the primary source of legal advice. Their work can include handling legal problems, compliance issues, disputes, labour law, tax, and intellectual property. Salaries range from 2.5 Million – 5 Million HKD annually.
Head of Internal Audit/Internal Audit Director
Tasked with preparing and implementing a risk-based audit plan for improving the company’s operational and financial activities, an Internal Audit Director is important for businesses looking to run efficiently. An Internal Audit Director typically commands a salary of 2 Million HKD – 3.6 Million HKD (annually) depending on the scale of the business.
Head of Marketing/Digital Marketing
With everything digitalising and moving online, the role of digital marketing directors has grown in importance. Every company needs a strong marketing team to increase its brand exposure to stand out from the growing competition. Salaries for the top marketing roles can range from 1.6 Million HKD to 2.6 Million HKD annually.
Chief Financial Officer – Finance & Accounting
It comes as no surprise that the top-ranking positions in the finance industry would be one of the based paid positions in Hong Kong. As a world-renowned financial hub, Hong Kong has one of the world’s most developed financial markets and offers some of the best financial services.
Typically, a CFO should have 10+ years of experience in the industry and can earn anywhere from 1.2 million to 2.8 million HKD annually depending on the size of the company.
CIO/CTO – Information Technology
The advancement of technology will be the most important phenomenon to shape the business world. Chief Technology Officers are in charge of providing technical leadership and developing a strategy to use new technologies to gain a competitive advantage over the market. This important role usually demands a salary of 1.8 Million HKD to 2.6 Million HKD (annually).
Human Resources Director
The most valuable assets of a company are the people, and managing them in the right way is a difficult task. This challenging role is clearly reflected in the pay of the highest-ranking HR role, where HR Directors can make anywhere from 1.2 Million HKD to 2.2 Million HKD (Annually). Usually, the HR director has around 10+ years of experience.
*Please note that this is meant to be a quick guide, please contact our recruitment team for more details.
| Links Mid-Year Job Market Report 2020: |
| ▼ Information Technology (IT) |
| ▼ Administration & Human Resources |
| ▼ Banking, Finance & Accounting |
| ▼ Sales & Marketing |
| ▼ Sourcing, Supply Chain & Manufacturing |
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