[coolgirl]

Originally Posted by paulmears

you can afford more than two beers a night in LKF...

paulmears, there are two sides to the equation. one is salary, one is benefits. if it's just salary, then a local CFO can be considered having an expat package, for example. But we know that an expat salary is more than that, though what comprises an expat package is a gray area

[Mat]

Originally Posted by coolgirl

what comprises an expat package is a gray area

It is "usually" considered expat package if you have:
- relocation paid
- Salary
- housing allowance
- medical benefits
- air tickets at least once a year
- School fee for kids
- for some nationalities: retirement paid back home...

this I think would qualify as a basic one..after you can get other fancy stuffs such as:
- car + gazoline or driver
- Air Tickets lump sum
- Bonuses
- and lot of other stuffs...

There is nothing such as a standard one..they all depends on which company you work for...but

[coolgirl]

Originally Posted by PDLM

To me it means anything beyond one-time relocation costs.

So if you have a housing allowance, or school fees are paid by the company, or you get flights home for you and your family then you are on an expat package.

then im on a local package... i guess unless youre really senior it's hard to get an expat package

[texasaxel]

Instead of the traditional fat expat packages of pre-handover days, a new type of package is becoming more common for employees being transfered abroad by their company. These employees still get many of the allowances listed below (housing, schooling, home leave, medical, cost of living adjustment) to offset the extra costs / overcome inconveniences of living in a foreign country. However, one catch is that the salary is not adjusted upwards dramatically and in return for staying in the home country pension plan, one has to pay home country rather than Hong Kong taxes (this is sometimes called Tax Equalization). While this is supposed to be fairer (e.g. people don't get penalized for being sent to high-tax countries), for Hong Kong postings (due to its low tax rate) this is usually more to the advantage of the company than the employee unless you're American in which case you would be subject to taxation in both your home and host country and Tax Equalization can turn out to be a good deal.

[newbee]

hello,

i would just like to weigh in on this one.
i am in the industry too, and i also have friends who are frm HK and who are also in the industry.

from my limited knowledge, as long as you're involved in 'front office' (meaning SnT, M&A, or Corp Finance) you'll always be accorded expat pay. at least it's the case for everyone i know, irregarldess of where you lived b4.

a really gd buddy of mine lives with his parents, but he still gets housing allowance every month! figure that out.

for other industries, i don't know.. but obviously with the converging talent gap, local firms are reluctent to pay expat pay. fortunately the banking industry is experiencing good times =)

therefore, if you're really in a major, ibank in nyc, get transfered, or leverage that at least =)

I don't have any kids/wife/dependants so I don't know anything about other packages, but for me (and all my peers) we got the standard housing/air/moving/etc allowance. I don't know whether it's considered an 'expat' package or not though. And it's exactly the same with all the (major) banks.

best of luck!

[word2burga]

from speaking to friends, I would agree.

[applefan]

Hmmmm...I'm in finance too and I'm not 100% if what newbee says applies to everyone. I'm a special case so I'm taking myself out of the equation but the benefits that newbee decribes seem to only apply to those who are moved from the U.S. to HK, or at least that is true of the ones I know. Those who were hired in HK (i.e. not trasnferred from the mothership) get paid in local terms. Maybe I just need to find more of newbee's friends!

[freeier]

ya, i'm with an european I bank, front line, and from what i gathered i don't think that is true as well.

i think expat packages are typified by benefits like high housing allowance, school fees for kids, etc.etc..

most of the banks around this region are going into local hire schemes. they are willing to pay quite a decent pay for people they get from overseas, but likely the kind of uncontrollable expat packages are phased out.

the reason is cost, if they give u lets say 70k or 80k hkd per month, they can compute and quantify they cost in hiring you. but if they offer you expat package of international school fees and housing allowance, they might find themself digging a unpredictable financial hole.

so like alot of my frens that are doing quite marketable front line jobs, most of us do not get a full expat package. our pay is decent but all cost are beared by ourselves.

the other possibility are the more senior guys from the ibanks. those are probably given the 'incentive' after long years of work or because their boss has to send them somewhere etc... those are put into full expat packages.

[coolgirl]

i guess it depends first on industry, then on seniority. Unless you're a senior exec, I dont think you get expat pay (but as freeier said, the pay is not bad anyway).

[Mat]

the rule is..there is no rule....
Depends as said on the indusrty, the seniority and of course the company...

As said by Freeir for example "even" in IB if you are in Front you do not necessarly get a housing allowance..in some banks yes, in some others no and some will provide you extra cash to compensate....

But in any case if you are already living in HK there is no reason to provide you with expat package (except if you are already on)....cos you already made the move to come here....