Indonesian employees to receive region's highest real pay hikes =

Indonesian employees to receive region's highest real pay hikes =

Doutsche Press-Agentur Singapore

Employees in Indonesia, South Korea and China are likely to receive the highest real pay raises in the Asia-Pacific region next year, and Singapore nearly the lowest, a Mercer Human Resource Consulting report said on Monday.

With the economy likely to be in better shape in 2004, Mercer tips the rise in pay packets at 2.9 percent in the city-state, up from around 1.3 percent this year.

After adjusting for a projected inflation rate of 1.3 percent, employees are likely to take home 1.6 percent more in real wages, according to the firm's survey.

"Singapore has possibly weathered the storm and is now on the recovery going into the new year," said the Mercer report published in The Business Times newspaper.

Those expected to enjoy a higher real pay rise are in Indonesia, 6.5 percent, South Korea, 4.5 percent and China, 3.9 percent.

Taiwan followed at 3.9 percent, India at 3.1 percent, Japan 2.8 percent, Hong Kong 2.2 percent and Australia 1.7 percent.

Only New Zealand, at 1 percent, is likely to fall behind Singapore, Mercer said.

"The threat of SARS still looms in parts of Asia, making it harder to regain economic composure," it added.

Globally, the least generous paymasters in the coming year are Venezuela, at minus 7.7 per cent, Puerto Rico, at minus 1.4 percent, Ukraine and Estonia, at minus 1 percent and Slovakia at zero.