Mobile phone chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) posted an average of NT$5.15 million (US$173,249) in annual compensation for non-managerial employees last year, marking the highest among all firms listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE), exchange data showed.
That is a 66 percent increase from the company’s average compensation of NT$3.08 million in 2020, as its earnings per share (EPS) expanded from NT$26.01 in 2020 to NT$70.56 last year.
That is also three times higher than the average compensation of NT$1.7 million in the nation’s semiconductor industry, the data showed.
Photo: Bloomberg
The increases helped MediaTek advance its ranking from third in 2020, replacing Foxconn Technology Co (鴻準精密), a subsidiary of Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密). Foxconn Technology’s ranking dropped to fifth place last year from first with average compensation of NT$4.1 million, the data showed.
MediaTek’s annual compensation also marked an overall all-time high since TWSE companies began disclosing non-managerial salaries in 2018, the data showed.
Seven of the top 10 highest-paying firms are semiconductor companies, compared with six in 2019 and 2020, with vehicle manufacturer Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車) and some construction companies leaving the list, the data showed.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, ranked 16th, with average annual compensation of NT$2.42 million last year, partially because of its large employee base of 53,212. Except TSMC, all semiconductor firms in Taiwan have fewer than 10,000 employees, the data showed.
Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運) ranked seventh with average annual compensation of NT$3.61 million, and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corp (陽明海運) ranked ninth with compensation averaging NT$2.75 million, the first time shipping companies have been in the top 10 since 2018, the data showed.
Shipping companies last year offered employees greater year-end bonuses given their greater EPS, boosting compensation that includes recurring wages, overtime pay and bonuses, the data showed.
Average compensation for non-managerial employees in the shipping industry grew 21 percent to NT$1.32 million from NT$1.09 million a year earlier, given rises in freight rates, the data showed.
Among all industries, the semiconductor trade posted the greatest average compensation for non-managerial employees at NT$1.7 million, followed by the steel industry at NT$1.48 million, the plastic industry at NT$1.34 million, the financial and insurance industry with NT$1.33 million, and the computer industry with NT$1.32 million, the data showed.
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