Pay remains steady in Malaysia’s financial services, IT and marketing sectors
Written by The Edge Monday, 27 April 2009 00:00
Salaries for professionals in financial institutions, IT and marketing in Malaysia have remained steady or even risen slightly, bucking the worldwide trend of pay cuts and salary freezes, a recent report by international recruiter Robert Walters has found.
In the finance and accounting sector, salaries for experienced accountants have increased to RM42,000-RM66,000 per annum this year, up from the RM36,000-RM48,000 bracket last year. Chief financial officers have seen their annual pay bracket increase marginally to RM250,000-RM460,000, from RM250,000-RM450,000 last year.
Robert Walters expects salaries in this sector to continue to climb, albeit at a slower rate compared with the last five years, despite an influx of returning professionals from the US, Europe, Australia and other parts of Asia. The industry still lacks professionals in middle-management roles, particularly in the oil and gas sector and candidates proficient in costing and tax.
Those in the banking sector, whether from investment or operational banks, have also seen pay rises, unlike their North American counterparts who have suffered enormous cuts. Wall Street investment bankers saw their salaries slashed by 70% last year, while those in Canada who had their wages halved last year face the prospect of another 15% cut, Bloomberg reported on March 17.
Conversely, the salary bracket for investment bankers in Malaysia with five to eight years of work experience increased slightly to RM157,000-RM240,000 per annum this year, compared with RM150,000-RM230,000 last year.
Private equity bankers with the same number of years of work experience also saw their pay upped to RM126,000-RM240,000, from RM120,000-RM230,000 last year; experienced market risk professionals’ pay rose to RM99,000-RM198,000 per annum this year from RM90,000 -RM180,000 last year.
The banking industry faces a shortage of bankers with experience in market risk, derivative operations and Islamic finance. The developing Islamic finance industry created new jobs last year and looks set to create more market interest this year.
Consequently, hiring activities in banking have continued as before, with minimal impact on salary packages, especially in critical areas such as core banking operations and risk management. These two areas also pushed up demand for IT professionals last year.
IT professionals, particularly those well-versed in technology consulting, software development, system implementation, system administration and IT security, are increasingly sought-after as more organisations turn to technology. Multinational corporations attracted to Malaysia due to the competitive wages of IT professionals here have also contributed to the rising demand.
Thus, industry wages have generally remained stable, with a software development manager now making RM95,000-RM110,000 per annum, comparable with an average of RM100,000 last year.
In marketing, while the salaries for some roles such as key account manager and product manager have remained constant, other positions like marketing manager are now better paid at RM144,000-RM160,000 per annum this year, compared with RM120,000-RM144,000 last year.
Robert Walters expects recruitment in marketing to remain consistent across most sectors, primarily in fast moving consumer goods, pharmaceuticals, healthcare and telecommunications. Volumes of sales and marketing contract roles have actually increased as organisations are choosing to recruit temporary rather than permanent staff.
The report also finds that the hiring of contract workers an increasingly popular practice in the IT, finance and accounting sectors, as knowledge workers in Malaysia see it as a viable career alternative offering exciting opportunities and challenges.
