Moving to HK
Mon, 2005-09-19 20:10 — bohemian23
Hi,
I have been offered a job in Hong Kong, what are the things which I need to be careful about while negotiating my salary ? tips on housing, salary structure, mandatory costs / savings would be useful. I would be working for a multinational bank
Re:Moving to HK
many thanks Mr. B it wad quite useful
Finances in HK
1) Housing in HK is VERY EXPENSIVE. I live in a 3 bedroom, 1400 square foot flat, 55-minute commute from Central, and I pay HK$35,000 per month! Ouch!
2) They don't have PAYE/Withholding on your salary, so you need to save yourself to prepare for the annual HK salaries tax (which is low compared to many countries, but it can still be quite a jolt coming only once per year).
3) There is a mandatory savings scheme (MPF) whereby you are required to save towards your retirement, and your employer is required to kick in a certain amount. You get this when you leave HK, or when you retire. (If you take it prior to retirement when you leave HK, and then you return to HK for employment again, I think you don't get the $$ back when you leave the second time, but then must really wait until retirement. Not sure, however.)
4) I'd read up various stuff on this site to get savvy.
5) Good luck!
Re:Moving to HK
Many thanks John, that was very useful.
Re:Moving to HK
Here's a good place to start: [url]http://www.batgung.com/articles/faqhome.htm[/url]
Regards, MrB
Re: Finances in HK
[quote="JohnBoyd"]1) Housing in HK is VERY EXPENSIVE. I live in a 3 bedroom, 1400 square foot flat, 55-minute commute from Central, and I pay HK$35,000 per month! Ouch![/quote]
35k is pretty high. Is the extra 400 square feet really worth it? There are decent 1000 square foot flats in the NT that cost around 10 to 13k a month.
I live in Ma On Shan myself.
Re:Moving to HK
Thanks.. how far would the commute be to Central and by what mode ?