MORE than a decade ago, Singaporeans were a contented lot who did not think to venture beyond their shores to work abroad. No more! Today, Singaporeans young and old actively seek jobs overseas.

Many are employed in low-cost Asian countries where an economic boom from globalisation has not only created an abundance of employment opportunities but a shortage of reliable managerial and technical talents. The result? Trained and trusted experts from global or regional headquarters or other more developed Asian countries have to be brought in to ease the talent crunch.

As one of the more developed economies in Asia, Singapore's robust economic performance is a double-edged sword. While the booming economy is able to provide ample employment opportunities to Singaporeans, it has also attracted expatriate technical and top managers who are drawn by the prospects of career advancement with a fat compensation package to match.

It is no surprise that the limited senior and top management positions available are fiercely contested by locals and expatriates in Singapore's open economy. Among Singaporeans eager to ascend the corporate ladder, a good number are willing to explore overseas career opportunities.

The fact is that Singaporean managers are in demand and actively hunted for overseas postings. They are especially sought after for work in emerging or developing Asian countries. But that is not all, as more Singaporeans are also heading for the developed economy of Hong Kong. Bright, young Singaporeans fresh out of university are wooed by Hong Kong's financial industry with top dollars.

Singaporeans' ability to speak English, Mandarin and/or Malay plus their technical or professional expertise stand them in good stead. Singapore as a nation has an image of discipline, achievement and integrity. Singaporeans are therefore welcomed as typically serious, no-nonsense workers trusted with responsible positions.

With their impressive technical, managerial and language abilities, Singaporeans can fetch more money working overseas than remaining at home. Attractive compensation, coupled with overseas working experience on the CV, as well as the excitement of work abroad make Singaporeans willing to relocate.

Singaporeans are found in a predominantly ethnic Chinese environment. More Singaporean expatriates can be found in China than in all the other Asian countries combined (see Chart 1). China, at 64 per cent, is way ahead of second-place Hong Kong, which is a distant 17 per cent. Thailand comes in third at 7 per cent, while India, Taiwan and Vietnam close in at around 3 per cent each.

Despite Vietnam's accession to the World Trade Organization in January last year, the number of multinational companies making a foray into the country has yet to reach a critical mass to lure large numbers of Singaporeans to work there.

Collectively, China's technology and semiconductor industries employ almost 60 per cent of the Singaporeans working in China (see Chart 2). Those in operations, finance and accounting, and sales make up a good 62 per cent of them. Of these, the largest group is operations where about three in 10 Singaporeans are country-level middle managers or function heads in operations, specialising in procurement, product engineering, quality control, maintenance or logistics. Finance and accounting comes next with about one in every five Singaporeans holding appointments in this area. Sales managers constitute 14 per cent of the group.

With a vastly different economic landscape from China, Hong Kong's chemical and consumer industries have the lion's share of Singaporean expatriates (see Chart 3). The hottest jobs for Singaporean expatriates here are those at the function head level in business, sales and marketing. Being a popular location for setting up regional headquarters, Hong Kong also offers these Singaporeans job roles with wide geographical scope.

Singapore expatriates in China receive 7 per cent to 37 per cent more in annual base salary than their contemporaries in Singapore (see Table 1). However, as 56 per cent of these Singaporeans in China are provided the full expatriate package, while another 40 per cent receive a local-plus/quasi package, it is not surprising for them to receive substantially more in perks, such as car allowance, housing benefit, and subsidy for their children's education. With perks added in, Singaporean expatriates in China make 21 per cent to 45 per cent more than Singaporean executives in Singapore.

Fifty-eight per cent of Singaporeans in Hong Kong are provided the full expatriate package, while another 26 per cent are given the local-plus/quasi package. Again, these Singaporean expatriates are able to bring home significantly more in perks than the local Singaporeans. The fixed cash and perks provided at the vice-president level can even be 60 per cent more than that received by local Singaporeans (see Table 2). Due to the generally higher cost of living in Hong Kong, the value of the perks provided will tend to be correspondingly more than that for China.

While overseas postings usually imply a fatter pay package, Singaporean expatriates should not overlook the tax treatment of their earnings. A tax reimbursement programme is usually provided by an employer to alleviate any additional tax burden that may arise due to the employee's overseas assignment. In this regard, China is one destination where employers offer tax equalisation to Singaporeans working there. China's marginal income tax is very high and Singaporean executives can easily end up paying over 40 per cent in taxation.

Employers typically pay the difference between the Singaporean home country tax rate and that of the host China tax rate, while the Singaporean executive is responsible for the tax that he would typically pay in Singapore. Such an issue does not arise in Hong Kong for Singaporeans as the Hong Kong tax is similar to Singapore.

As Asia continues to be integrated with the globalised world, Asian talents are expected to move across borders to work in greater numbers. China continues to be a draw for Singaporeans as a result of its booming economy. Hong Kong also offers Singaporeans an attractive destination for a working stint due to its tight labour market for technical and financial expertise.

However, given the advantages of a wider local network, improving fluency in English, and less costly local compensation compared to expatriate packages, it is increasingly common to find PRC Chinese holding senior positions that encompass Greater China or even Asia-Pacific responsibilities. The relaxation in travel restrictions for PRC Chinese also help in getting their travel passes approved in a more timely manner. PRC Chinese are found in great numbers these days working in Hong Kong, holding senior professional and managerial positions.

With stiffer competition expected from the local PRC Chinese talents as well as returnees to China and Hong Kong, Singaporeans who are considering overseas stints in China can no longer rest on their laurels.

The writer is a managing partner, HRBS Solutions

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