Chinese brokers take a collective pay cut after a miserable 2018 in the world’s worst-performing stock market
- Average pay decreased by 21,300 yuan to 406,000 yuan last year, down 5 per cent from the previous year
- Sun Shuming, chairman for GF Securities, saw his compensation more than halved to 18.6 million yuan, still the best-paid executive in the industry
Chinese brokers would rather forget a disappointing 2018.
Nearly 70 per cent of Chinese brokerages reported a reduction in employee compensation for last year, with one fifth slashing it by more than 20 per cent, as the industry struggled because of the market downturn and a slowing economy.
The compensation includes salary, bonus, and benefits.
“Last year was a tough year for the entire industry, as the market slumped amid trade war fears and tightening financial regulations,” said Li Xing, a Beijing-based analyst for Lianxun Securities.
The Shanghai stock index was the world’s biggest loser last year, down 24.6 per cent. Stock trading volumes and IPO fundraising both plunged to the lowest levels since 2014. That caused a 41 per cent slide in the securities industry’s total profit to 66.6 billion yuan (US$9.9 billion), official data showed.
