Looking for a bump in your pay? Try Jeddah or Geneva.

Expatriates moving to Switzerland—home to some of the biggestprivate banks, commodity traders and pharmaceuticals companies—earnan average of more than $193,000. That's the highest in the worldand 54% more than if they'd stayed at home, a study publishedWednesday by HSBC Holdings Plc shows. That boost in remuneration isonly surpassed by the 58% increase enjoyed by expats relocating toSaudi Arabia's petrodollar economy.

Switzerland leads HSBC's economics ranking—measuring issues frompersonal finances and career progression to the strength of thelocal economy—for a third straight year. Almost eight in 10 expatssaid they had more disposable income after moving to the home ofCredit Suisse Group, drugmaker Roche Holding and commodities traderMercuria Energy Group Ltd.

“Switzerland has always been a high achiever for economics,”said Dean Blackburn, head of HSBC Expat. “The majority of expatsthere are in full-time employment with improved earning prospects.Expats in Switzerland are also some of the most confident in thelocal economy.”

Norway and Germany placed second and third for economics,followed by Singapore, which topped the overall country rankingsfor the third year, according to the annual HSBC Expat Explorerreport.

The city-state, where foreigners make up more than 60% ofthe population, derives its top ranking by also scoring well incategories for experience and family. The former measures qualityof life, integration with locals and ease of finding accommodation,while the latter captures social life, education and raisingchildren.

Still, while a fat wallet helps, it can't always buy bliss.

Switzerland dropped to No. 11 in HSBC's overall expat countryrankings because of low ratings in the experience and familycategories. While the nation of iconic ski resorts from Zermatt toSt. Moritz scored well for lifestyle, it was ranked 36th forthe ease of integrating with local people and forming friendships.Similarly, the country with more than 2 million foreignresidents was judged a good place to bring up children, but onlyplaced 44th out of 46 for social life and how welcoming it was froma diversity perspective.

Achieving Goals

Those categories also dragged down Saudi Arabia to 40th in theoverall ranking, just ahead of China, with Egypt propping up thelist. The strong personal finances of expats living in the desertkingdom are countered by the weakness of the Saudi economy, whichis facing the worst slowdown since the global financial crisis.

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein said Saudi Arabia must addresscultural differences with the West to attract more foreign workersas it seeks to diversify its economy away from oil. That couldinvolve creating districts where “certain behaviors” are allowedand other places where they are not, he said last week.

The U.K. dropped 13 places to 35th in HSBC's overallranking from 2016, falling behind Poland, South Africa and Turkeyas Brexit drained expat confidence in the country's political andeconomic prospects.

The U.S. climbed three positions to 27th, topping the survey forcareer progression, but scoring relatively poorly for the ease ofsetting up, which includes organizing health care and findingaccommodation.

In general, moving abroad is financially rewarding, with expatsincreasing their income by an average of 25%, according to HSBC'ssurvey of more than 27,500 people from 159 countries andterritories.

“From home ownership to retirement preparation, expats canachieve their lifelong goals more quickly,” Blackburn said.

From: Bloomberg News

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