Ninety-six percent of companies in Taiwan plan to issue Lunar New Year or year-end bonuses, with the average being 1.39 months of wages, the highest average since 2012 amid improving corporate profitability, 1111 Job Bank (1111人力銀行) said yesterday, citing a survey.
The number of firms offering bonuses is up 10 percent from a year earlier, when the average was 1.32 months of wages, 1111 Job Bank said.
Financial institutes topped the survey, with the average bonus in the sector amounting to 1.97 months of wages, it said, adding that local life insurers, lenders, asset management firms and securities brokerages benefited from rising demand for wealth management, and stock rallies at home and abroad.
Photo: CNA
The average year-end bonuses at the most profitable financial institute, Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控), are to be 7.5 months of wages, up from six months last year, Fubon Financial Holding chairman Richard Tsai (蔡明興) told reporters on the sidelines of a year-end banquet.
State-run Hua Nan Financial Holding Co (華南金控) said that its employees were expected to benefit from the bank-focused conglomerate’s profit growth by receiving bonuses of 6.5 to seven months of wages.
The nation’s 14 listed financial holding companies reported combined profits of NT$571.4 billion (US$17.36 billion) in the first 11 months of last year, giving them room to be generous, 1111 Job Bank said, adding out that year-end bonuses have become part of total compensation packages to attract and retain talent.
Taiwanese suppliers of IT products were second with average bonuses in the sector of 1.6 months of wages, the survey showed.
The IT industry was a major beneficiary of the artificial intelligence boom, the job bank said, adding that 76 percent of companies in the sector planned to raise wages this year.
Barry Lam (林百里), founder and chairman of AI server provider Quanta Computer Inc (廣達), told employees on Thursday that the company would undergo rapid business growth this year on top of strong earnings last year.
The transportation and logistics industry was third, with bonuses of 1.5 months of wages, the survey showed.
Employees at Evergreen Marine Corp (長榮海運), Taiwan’s largest cargo container shipping company, reportedly received 20 months of wages as year-end bonuses this week, as the shipping industry benefited from disruptions to container shipping traffic in the Red Sea last year.
Companies that do not plan to issue bonuses pinned the blame mainly on disappointing financial results, the job bank said.
The survey showed that 71.3 percent of firms would take employees’ performance and seniority into consideration when arriving at bonus amounts, while a few companies limit bonuses to employees who outperform their peers, the job bank said.
Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction & Development Co (愛山林) led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) last year, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) finished 14th. JSL Construction paid its employees total average compensation of NT$4.78 million (US$159,701), down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but still ahead of the most profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed. Last year, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to reach about NT$3.33 million, lifting its ranking by 10 notches
SEASONAL WEAKNESS: The combined revenue of the top 10 foundries fell 5.4%, but rush orders and China’s subsidies partially offset slowing demand Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) further solidified its dominance in the global wafer foundry business in the first quarter of this year, remaining far ahead of its closest rival, Samsung Electronics Co, TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said yesterday. TSMC posted US$25.52 billion in sales in the January-to-March period, down 5 percent from the previous quarter, but its market share rose from 67.1 percent the previous quarter to 67.6 percent, TrendForce said in a report. While smartphone-related wafer shipments declined in the first quarter due to seasonal factors, solid demand for artificial intelligence (AI) and high-performance computing (HPC) devices and urgent TV-related orders
Prices of gasoline and diesel products at domestic fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.2 and NT$0.3 per liter respectively, after international crude oil prices increased last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week snapped a two-week losing streak as the geopolitical situation between Russia and Ukraine turned increasingly tense, CPC said in a statement. News that some oil production facilities in Alberta, Canada, were shut down due to wildfires and that US-Iran nuclear talks made no progress also helped push oil prices to a significant weekly gain, Formosa said
MINERAL DIPLOMACY: The Chinese commerce ministry said it approved applications for the export of rare earths in a move that could help ease US-China trade tensions Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰) is today to meet a US delegation for talks in the UK, Beijing announced on Saturday amid a fragile truce in the trade dispute between the two powers. He is to visit the UK from yesterday to Friday at the invitation of the British government, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. He and US representatives are to cochair the first meeting of the US-China economic and trade consultation mechanism, it said. US President Donald Trump on Friday announced that a new round of trade talks with China would start in London beginning today,
RSS