Expats find rich pickings in Singapore

Source / Expat Explorer Survey 2010, Herald Graphic

Singapore is the place to be if you want to earn as much as possible as an expatriate worker, a new global survey has found.

Forty-five per cent of expats working in Singapore earn more than US$200,000 ($273,000), according to the Export Explorer Survey conducted by HSBC Bank, compared to the 21 per cent global average of expats earning incomes of above US$200,000.

New Zealand is not included in the annual HSBC poll, which interviewed 4217 respondents from 25 countries, which the bank says is the world's largest survey of expatriates.

Expats were quizzed about their finances, lifestyle and raising children abroad.

But although those surveyed said they benefit from lower tax in Singapore, they also believe they had to spend considerably more on accommodation, food and drink, the report said.

The Russian Federation came overall top in the survey, followed by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain when other factors such as disposable income and measure of luxury are taken into consideration.

"The Middle East, Singapore and Russia dominate the top quartile of the wealth hotspot leader board, while expats in mainland Europe and South Africa are accumulating the least amount of financial wealth."

Almost two-thirds of expats in Spain earned less than US$60,000, as did nearly half in France and the Netherlands and 45 per cent in Germany.

Asia New Zealand Foundation business director James Penn says wealth and opportunities were clearly shifting to the East, but many Kiwis were still reluctant to look beyond "traditional OE destinations".

Mr Penn said language and culture continued to play a big part in their choices, and Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States had the "closest psychic distance" for New Zealanders.

"The UK, Australia and US are still top choices for Kiwi expats because of language and cultural reasons, and it requires a Kiwi with a more adventurous mindset to consider working and living in Asia," Mr Penn said.

"Most Kiwis also head to familiar territories for employability reasons, because local employers find it hard to evaluate the experience of someone who has worked in Asia and expats could find it hard to find employment when they return. This clearly has to change."

An Asia New Zealand Foundation study last year said there was no data source on New Zealanders working in Southeast Asia, but 236 expat New Zealanders in Singapore responded to a survey conducted by the Kiwi Expat Association New Zealand.