From Gulf News
Dubai: While senior executives in the Gulf see the UAE as the most desirable place to work due to its liberal lifestyle, it is Saudi Arabia where they can have more disposable incomes.
However, both Saudi Arabia and the UAE topped the list of places that offer managers the highest purchasing power, according to a recent survey by consultancy firm Hay Group.
"Managers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE enjoy soaring levels of take-home pay, as employers in this region pay more attention to cash rather than performance-based incentives," said Vijay Gandhi, reward information services manager at the group's regional office in Dubai.
Top executives in Saudi Arabia enjoyed annual disposable incomes of $229,325 compared to $223,939 for their counterparts in the UAE.
Gandhi said the start up of a significant number of new entities, growth in free zones, overseas expansion of local entities and entry of new players from outside the region have all put pressure on the labour market for top executives.
Although the gap in their purchasing power is narrow compared to UAE pay packages, managers in Saudi Arabia enjoy much higher saving potential because of lower cost of living compared to the UAE.
"Because of the higher cost of living you have to be really rich in the UAE to enjoy the tax-free advantage. People in Saudi Arabia have a higher saving potential," said Eckart Woertz, an economist with the Gulf Research Centre in Dubai.
But despite inflation eroding people's ability to save money, the UAE remains attractive to expatriates because its offers them "a liberal lifestyle, opportunities for leisure, and safety," Woertz added.
Several major employers have introduced new incentives like higher bonuses to retain their staff. "In an environment of high cost of living and shortage of key talent, there is also considerable interest in introducing long-term incentives," says Gandhi.
In general, managers in emerging economies are enjoying higher levels of buying power for their pay than their counterparts in advanced economies such as Britain, the US and other countries in Western Europe, Hay Group's World Pay Report showed.
The continued high economic growth in markets like Russia, Turkey and Mexico is seen creating "unprecedented demand for senior talent," it said.
Similar to the situation in the UAE, a shortage of talented top company executives is driving up salaries at those levels in those countries. "Switzerland, Germany and Ireland are the only European countries to make it into the top 20 countries for management buying power, with the US lagging at 24th and the UK at 40th," the report found. The firm studied people on top of management ladder, typically finance manager, manager (information technology) and head of human resources, and took into account the cost of living and taxes in 46 countries.
China's rapid economic development is reflected in growing disposable incomes that averaged at $126,281, placing the country 14th in the world pay table. However, despite India's impressive economic performance, managers in the country were still not well-compensated in comparison to their Chinese counterparts.
1 comment:
Besides Saudi Arabia, UAE"The continued high economic growth in markets like Russia, Turkey and Mexico is seen creating "unprecedented demand for senior talent," it said."
And where does the US fit in? This country is falling further and further behind. Also mentioned in the article how well China and India are doing.
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