Meanwhile, Thailand is among the top five economies in the world to see real salary increases as productivity grows. The country is likely to see a real salary increase of 4.1 percent in 2020, up from 3.9 percent in 2019.

Vietnam is expected to have a 5.1 percent increase in salary in 2020.

The average real salary increase in Singapore is forecast at 3 percent in 2020, down from 3.3 percent in 2019, which is above average in Asia-Pacific and more than double Hong Kong's rise of 1.4 percent. India will again see the highest real salary increase in Asia, predicted to be 5.4 percent.

The average increase in real terms in Asia-Pacific is forecast at 3.2 percent. India took the top spot, followed by Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, then Thailand.

Workers in Vietnam and Thailand will both see further increases to their salaries as the nominal salaries expected to be given by employers stay well ahead of the low levels of inflation that these countries will see in 2020, Lee Quane, Regional Director of Asia at ECA International, was quoted by the Thai media as saying.

Lee said this has been a long-term trend for both countries, as productivity continues to grow and inflation is controlled.

Asian nations lead the way again for salary increases with 13 out of the top 20 hikes in real salaries and the entire top five in the global rankings.

In China, the real salary increase is again expected to be above the regional and global average at 3.6 percent.

However, not all in emerging Asia will benefit from an above-average salary rise after inflation. Workers in Malaysia are expected to see a big drop in their real salary increases compared with previous years, to 2.9 percent from 4 percent in 2019.

Vietnam agriculture giant wagers on banana

Hoang Anh Gia Lai Agrico has forecast that revenues from banana sales will be around VND10 billion ($430,900) a day this year.

Regional monthly minimum wage to rise in January 2019

Regional monthly minimum wage applied to laborers working under contracts in Vietnam will range from 2.92 million VND (125 USD) to 4.18 million VND (180 USD), depending on each region, as from January 2019.

Monthly basic wage to be raised to 1.49 million VND on July 1, 2019

 

Regional minimum wage to increase by 5.3% in 2019

The 2019 regional minimum wage will be increased by 5.3% on average, equivalent to between VND160,000 (US$6.88) and VND200,000 (US$8.6) depending on each region, the lowest wage increase level so far.

Average wage in 2017 increases by 9.3%: MOLISA

The average salary of workers in 2017 was VND6.6 million per month, up 9.3% compared to 2016 (at VND6 million a month). The salary increase was higher than the regional minimum wage increase of 2017 (at 7.3%).

Source: VNA