Singapore, January 23:

Salaried workers in Asia are tipped to enjoy the world’s largest pay increase of 7.3 per cent on average this year, an international human resources firm said.

The increase in Asia will be higher than the global figure of 5.9 per cent, said ECA International. Asia’s economic growth along with the need to retain skilled talent are the main factors fuelling the wage rise.

“Relatively high rates of salary increase in Asia in comparison to elsewhere in the world reflects that robust economic growth recorded in 2007,” said Lee Quane, ECA’s Hong Kong-based GM. “Principal causes of these salary increases are inflation, economic growth and the need for organisations to retain key talent,” he said. Within the region, Indian workers’ pay packets will likely see the biggest rise of 14 per cent, which is also the highest increase among the 47 countries included in the survey of 250 multinational firms.

Vietnamese workers’ wages are expected to jump by 10 per cent, the second highest growth in Asia, while at the other end of the scale Japanese employees will have the lowest rise of three per cent. “The high increments are mainly result of fast economic growth and widespread skills shortages which are prompting companies to pay more for talent while keeping pace with the inevitable inflation that comes with economic development,” ECA International said. In China, wage growth is expected to remain at eight per cent.