Taiwan shipping company Evergreen gives year-end bonuses of up to 52 months: Reports

Taiwan shipping giant Evergreen Marine has rewarded its employees with massive year-end bonuses of up to 52 months' pay after posting strong profits in 2022.

Most employees received year-end bonuses ranging from 10 to 45 months of wages, while the bonus payment for those with better job performances hit 52 months, reported local news outlet Liberty Times.

This surpasses the 40-month bonus the company offered in 2021, the report added.

Taiwan's Central News Agency said the 2022 payout would be the highest of any listed company in Taiwan's stock market history.

Evergreen Marine reported a net profit of NT$304.35 billion (US$9.91 billion) in the first three quarters of 2022, up 92 per cent year-on-year, Taipei Times reported. 

Much of the year's strong performance was reportedly built on rising freight rates in the first half of the year, although momentum has slowed since then.

The company's president Hsieh Huey-chuan said in a recent interview that the shipping sector's ability to push ahead in 2023 will depend on whether Russia's war against Ukraine ends, which would boost global demand.

One of South Korea's major refiners, Hyundai Oilbank, also announced that it was handing out 1,000 per cent of base salaries as bonuses to its employees for the year 2022.

According to the Korea Herald, the company declined to disclose the specific amount of salaries given but in 2021, its employees received an average of 121 million won (US$95,132) per person including bonuses at a 600 per cent rate.

The report added that Hyundai Oilbank's operating profit increased by 226 per cent year-on-year to 2.8 trillion won in the third quarter of 2022.