SEA remains a top market for tech recruitment despite rising compensation packages: study

Southeast Asia remains an attractive market for tech companies to secure talent, despite increasing compensation packages within the region, a report from Monk’s Hill Ventures and Glints showed.

Lim Kuo-Yi, managing partner of Monk’s Hill Ventures / Photo credit: Tech in Asia

Called the Southeast Asia Tech Talent Compensation Report, the study uses over 1,000 data points about tech startup talent and interviews with more than 20 founders across Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

The report, which can be accessed here, examined the talent crunch in the region, rising base salaries, the impact of Covid-19 on company building, as well as the role of culture in scaling teams and startups locally.

According to data gathered by Monk’s Hill and Glints, base pay for both CEOs and chief technology officers increased by 1.3x on average at the US$5 million to US$10 million funding stage.

Image credit: Monk’s Hill

Salaries for engineering positions, which were the most in-demand across Singapore, Vietnam, and Indonesia, are also among the highest. According to founders, a vice president of engineering is one of the most critical hires for a company, with talent usually asking for US$7,500 to US$10,000 a month in Singapore, US$2,800 to US$7,100 in Indonesia, and US$1,000 to US$5,000 in Vietnam, depending on the stage of the company.

Image credit: Monk’s Hill

Additionally, the joint study noted a talent crunch regionally – particularly in Singapore – for engineering and product manager roles.

According to the study, companies in the US and China – such as TikTok, Tencent, Alibaba, and Zoom -view Southeast Asia as a more affordable market to hire both tech and non-tech talent.

“Many founders we spoke to have built strong teams from high-performing engineering talent in Vietnam, data science talent in Singapore, and product management talent in Indonesia,” the report noted.

Monk’s Hill and Glints found that three of the fastest-growing tech markets in the region – Singapore, Indonesia, and Vietnam – have also become hotspots for key business activity.