China’s top executives suffer first average pay cut in 2 decades as sluggish economy weighs on listed firms
- Average annual salary of executives at Chinese listed companies last year fell by 3.27 per cent, mirroring broader patterns of stagnating or falling wages
- Three top executives from struggling property giant Vanke have also agreed to reduce their salaries this year to 10,000 yuan (US$1,379) per month before tax
The average annual salary of top executives at Chinese listed companies fell for the first time in two decades last year, according to a study of over 5,000 annual reports, as companies’ profitability was dented by the sluggish economy.
The average last year stood at 1.66 million yuan (US$229,000), representing a 3.27 per cent decrease from 2022, according to the study by Shanghai Rongzheng Enterprise Consulting Service Group released on Tuesday.
The study also showed the average annual pay for chairmen fell by 3.32 per cent from 2022 to 1.32 million yuan last year, while salaries for general managers, board secretaries and chief financial officers declined by 3.46 per cent, 1.12 per cent and 3.82 per cent, respectively.
The consulting firm has been tracking executive pay at Chinese listed companies since 1999. Its findings were drawn from the annual reports of 5,326 listed companies published as of April 30.
The highest-paid executive last year was Li Ge, chairman of biotech firm WuXi AppTec, who earned around 42 million yuan before tax, which was about the same amount he received in 2022.
His salary easily eclipsed the 26.63 million yuan earned by Li Xiting, the chairman of medical equipment manufacturer Mindray Bio-Medical, and the 26.28 million yuan for Li Bin, the vice-president of agricultural and technology firm Tongwei.
