IT sector leading investment in employee share plans in Hong Kong

Information technology companies listed in Hong Kong are investing more than any other sector in the region in employee share plans, to help recruit and retain top talent.
 
Every year, Computershare assesses the popularity of employee share plans in Asia, and our latest research shows that the majority (83.6%) of Hong Kong-listed companies include employee equity in their remuneration strategy (as of 2022).
 
This is a notable rise of 17.5% from the 66.1% of listed companies in the region who offered a share plan just a decade ago, in 2012.
 
Employee share plans are popular across many sectors in Hong Kong - but the IT sector's spending on employee equity sets it apart from others.
 
Hong Kong-listed companies invested a total of HK$72 billion in employee share plans during 2022, and the IT sector accounted for more than half (53.5%) of this figure, or HK$38.5 billion.
 
Healthcare companies were the second largest investor in employee share plans at HK$11.5 billion, followed by the consumer discretionary sector, or companies that offer non-essential goods and services, which invested HK$9.7 billion.
 
The two most popular types of share plans offered by Hong Kong-listed companies across all sectors are share options and share awards.
 
Share options give employees the choice to purchase shares in the future at a predetermined price on a specific date, whereas share awards typically mean employees receiving company shares for free.
 
Share options outpace share awards across all industries, and 80.9% of listed IT companies in the region offer this kind of plan.
 
However, the IT sector also has a relatively high adoption of share awards, with 46.6% of listed IT companies in the region offering such plans, second only to healthcare companies - 58.7% of whom offer share awards.
 
Across the board, growth in employee share plans in the region is largely attributable to competition in the jobs market, with companies using their plans to help attract, retain and motivate skilled and specialized professionals.
 
We have also witnessed companies become increasingly aware of the ways share plans can positively shape employee attitudes and behaviours.
 
Computershare funded research prepared by the University of Hong Kong and conducted by the University of Warwick in recent years which investigated this influence.
 
It found that employees are more likely to develop a sense of ownership towards their organization as the proportion of their wealth held in employer shares grows.
 
Based on our data, we expect many Hong Kong-listed companies will continue using employee equity to reap these benefits and achieve their goals.