Rolex watch bonus, 6 months salary at Asian companies

On the eve of Tet, some Asian companies announced year-end bonuses in the form of Rolex watches or six months' salary, but the overall level decreased compared to last year.

Late last month, Singaporean comedian and content creator Kelvin Tan, also known as Mayiduo, made headlines on social media when he gifted Rolex watches to seven of his employees, worth a total of S$150,000 ($111,500), all of whom were top performers at his interior design company, SG Interior KJ.

Mayiduo has a hobby of rewarding good employees with Rolex watches. In 2024, he also gave his employees 7 Rolex watches worth 150,000 Singapore dollars. Admitting that this amount is not small compared to a small and medium-sized enterprise like SG Interior KJ, the 31-year-old boss found it necessary.

“In today’s era, if you are a boss who keeps all the profits for yourself, you will never get far. Take care of your team and your team will automatically take care of your business,” Mayiduo said.

Mayiduo gives Rolex watches to one of its 7 employees. Photo: Facebook SG Interior KJ

Announcing year-end bonuses before the Lunar New Year is a common practice for many businesses in Asia. But this year, there have been few shocking bonus announcements. Aside from Rolex watches from a small business in Singapore, bonuses from Taiwanese airlines are also rare and interesting news.

Accordingly, Eva Airways gave employees a bonus of 6 months' salary, the highest level since the company was founded. Flight crew and ground staff also received an average monthly salary increase of NT$5,000 (US$160). Pilots received an additional NT$11,000 to NT$20,000 (US$350-640), depending on their ability.

The generous move comes as the airline reports a 45.11% increase in consolidated revenue in 2023 compared to 2022, reaching a record NT$200.36 billion ($6.4 billion). Passenger revenue alone is expected to increase by more than 320%. Thanks to the significant increase in revenue due to the recovery in air travel demand after the pandemic, several other airlines in Taiwan have also announced salary increases and bonuses for employees this Lunar New Year.

Eva Air staff take a photo on the occasion of the opening of the Taipei - Clark (Philippines) route in March 2023. Photo: Eva

China Airlines is giving employees five months' salary, plus a cash bonus of NT$20,000 ($640), along with an average salary increase of 4%. Last year, the company recorded consolidated revenue of NT$184.82 billion ($5.9 billion), up 22.62% year-on-year in 2022. The outlook for 2024 is also optimistic. As of mid-January 2023, the booking rate for the Lunar New Year holiday had exceeded 80%.

Another airline, Tigerair Taiwan, is giving employees two months of salary, which, combined with a pre-existing two-month bonus plan, adds up to four months of salary. Tigerair Taiwan’s consolidated revenue last year rose nearly 850% from 2022 to NT$12.47 billion (nearly US$400 million). The company said it saw strong growth in the fourth quarter of 2023, with its highest quarterly revenue on record, as travel demand in Northeast Asia picked up.

However, the overall bonus picture in Taiwan is down from last year. According to a survey by 1111 Job Bank, 85% of companies on the island are willing to pay year-end bonuses, down slightly by 3% from the end of 2022. The average bonus for office workers is 1.32 months, down slightly by 0.02 months.

The business and commercial services sector leads with an average bonus of 1.93 months. Next are the information technology and consumer services sectors, with average bonuses of 1.52 months and 1.45 months, respectively.

1111 Job Bank's public relations director Tseng Chung-wei said 2023 is a year of economic recession, so business owners are taking a more cautious and pragmatic approach to distributing bonuses.

The situation is similar in mainland China, where the average year-end bonus for office workers in the country has fallen as companies control costs amid economic uncertainty, according to a report by recruitment portal Zhaopin.

A survey of about 50,000 employees in major cities such as Beijing and Shanghai found that only 20.2% said they were certain they would receive a bonus, down 6.7 percentage points from 2023. About 39.4% were uncertain and 13.8% said there would be no bonus.

The average bonus is expected to be 6,950 yuan ($968), down 1,478 yuan ($246) from last year. Li Qiang, vice president of Zhaopin, said the bonus drop was due to the companies' poor performance this year.

The most generous companies in China this year were media, auto and finance companies. Of these, auto workers earned the highest bonuses, with 21.3% receiving bonuses of more than 10,000 yuan (over $1,400).

By region, Beijing office workers received the highest bonus, averaging about 10,298 yuan ($1,450), followed closely by Shanghai with 10,070 yuan ($1,417) and Shenzhen with 9,971 yuan ($1,400).

In Macau, a typical bonus for resorts and casinos is one month's salary. For example, casino operator MGM gives 95% of its workforce one month's salary.

Meanwhile, the resort developer and operator Sands China also gave a month's salary and a bonus. Accordingly, regular employees will receive a month's salary while managers will receive a bonus based on productivity. At the same time, starting March 1, 99% of employees will receive a salary increase.

Specifically, full-time employees with monthly salaries of up to 13,000 Macau patacas ($1,616) will receive a 4.7-5.4% salary increase. Employees with monthly salaries above 13,000 Macau patacas will receive a 2.5% increase.

Wilfred Wong, chairman of Sands China, expressed gratitude to the company's employees. "The resilience and team spirit of our team members have not only led us through the challenges of recent years but also into a period of rejuvenation," he praised in a text message.

Phien An ( summary )

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