Business

Friday July 3, 2009

MNCs scale down perks for expatriates

By DAVID TAN


GEORGE TOWN: Expatriates working in the country for multinational corporations (MNCs) are now getting less benefits due to cutbacks as a result of the economic recession.

Pathfinder Relocation Services Sdn Bhd managing director Triona Chelliah said that over the past one year, many MNCs had scaled down international relocation packages for their assignees.

“What we are seeing is that many new expatriates are now paid lump sum by their companies to manage their living in Malaysia.

Triona Chelliah

“Previously, expatriates were given different allowances and subsidies to support their daily needs. This is probably a way for the foreign firms to cut their overseas expenses following the economic crisis,” she told StarBiz.

Triona said an obvious example was housing budget, which had been cut by about 20%.

“In the past, it was not unusual for a relocating family to receive a housing budget of RM15,000 a month.

“This has affected the demand for high-end properties in Penang and Kuala Lumpur. According to real estate agencies in the city, rentals for up-market houses in Kuala Lumpur have declined by about 10%,” she said.

Another example, Triona said, was car allowance where expatriates would previously receive between RM1,800 and RM2,000 a month for car rentals.

“But now they have to pay on their own if they want a car. This has prompted them to rent local cars, which are considerably cheaper than imported cars,” she added.

Expatriates also had to look for international schools with lower fee structures for their children to minimise their expenditure, Triona said.

She added that there were now more expatriates on short-term assignments of a year or less, and fewer people were coming from the United States and more from China, India, Indonesia and Europe.

“They are usually the top and middle-tier employees,” she said.

On the impact of the economic crisis, Triona said she did not expect Pathfinder to register any decline in business.

“In fact, we are forecasting the number of expatriates using our services to come to Malaysia to increase by about 10% this year,” she said.

Pathfinder is a destination service provider specialising in making arrangements to settle expatriates working in the country.

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