Surprise! India has the third highest expat salary packages in Asia

International News

With Hong Kong and Singapore routinely topping the charts as the most expensive places to live and play, it may come as some surprise that Japan offers the best pay packets for expats in Asia.

The average expatriate pay package provided by companies in Japan to mid-level employees is $386,451 a year, eclipsing what’s on offer anywhere else in the region, according to a report by consultancy ECA International. Japan also saw the biggest increase in expat package values last year, thanks to a stronger yen and steeper housing costs, said Lee Quane, a regional director at the firm.
ECA's annual MyExpatriate Market Pay Survey measured expat packages by cash salary along with other perks including accommodation allowances and international school subsidies. It also took the various countries’ tax systems into account.Perhaps because of some of the challenges living in India entails -- think bad traffic, overcrowding and pollution -- it came in at No. 3, with companies offering mid-level staff an average package of $299,728 to attract overseas talent.

Hong Kong, the world’s least-affordable city, took the No. 4 slot in Asia, with firms shelling out $276,417 to international employees. Add-on benefits over and above salary were the highest in the region.Singapore only just squeezes into the top 10. The city-state, known for its low taxes, good schooling and easy outdoor lifestyle, mean companies don’t need to offer as many other bells and whistles.

On balance, it’s still better to be based in Asia as an expat, the ECA study found. Packages in the U.S. averaged just $250,028. In Australia, seen as a


 dream destination for many because of its wide open spaces and coastal cities, packages were $266,848.Topping the list globally was the U.K., with an average expat package of $421,798....Read More

Why China's 5G riches are outside the reach of international investors

International News:

How can investors profit from China’s race with the U.S. for 5G supremacy? Finding the answer is as tricky as figuring out the geopolitics.

The nation’s sleepy telecom stocks came back to life after Huawei Technologies Co. CFO Meng Wanzhou was detained in Canada in early December. While the official charge was that the company had violated U.S. sanctions on Iran, many in China interpreted the action as another attempt by the American government to thwart the country’s advance in 5G. Huawei leads the world in the number of declared essential patents for next-generation wireless technology, according to the European Telecommunications Standards Institute.

The Chinese equipment maker’s woes have only served to spark investor enthusiasm for anything 5G. On Dec. 7, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology awarded 5G spectrum licenses to its three telecom operators, allowing them to conduct final trials before widespread commercial rollout in 2020. A month later, the government said it will issue temporary licenses in some cities as early as this year. Unlike Europe and the U.S., China is wasting no time in moving ahead on 5G.


 Shares of wireless antenna makers and state-owned China Tower Corp. have been on fire. The monopoly operator of mobile-phone masts has gained more than 40 percent in Hong Kong since early December, bringing its market capitalization to $37 billion. On Monday, when Chinese traders returned after the week-long Lunar New Year holiday, the dozen or so mainland-listed companies that manufacture wireless antennas jumped 4.3 percent. Hong Kong-listed Comba Telecom Systems Holdings Ltd. has soared more than 70 percent.