Starting from the new year of 2025, the minimum wage in Cambodia's clothing and textile industry has soared to 208 US dollars per month (approximately 1500 RMB), marking a 12 year consecutive increase and witnessing the changes! In the outskirts of Phnom Penh, this salary is enough to leisurely afford the cost of living in a cramped house for three months (based on Numbeo data), while in Foshan, Guangdong Province, the monthly salary is 2080 yuan, barely touching the 1.5 monthly rent line in urban villages.

When salaries cannot catch up with rent, it has become a common problem on the journey of going abroad. The Cambodian Ministry of Labor has added a warm new regulation -60% of salaries must be anchored in US dollars, exchange rates are fluctuating, and the space is gradually narrowing.

Cambodia's garment industry is experiencing a rise in high wages, with a new target of $208, surpassing Vietnam ($180-220) and Laos ($168), reshaping the salary landscape of the ASEAN manufacturing industry. Compared to the 2070 yuan (about 297 US dollars) at the top of Xinjiang and 2080 yuan in Guangdong's second-class land, the hidden welfare of Cambodian workers shines brightly behind the numbers:

Mandatory provident fund of 10%, another burden on the shoulders of Chinese enterprises

Housing subsidy with a base salary of 15%, the additional cost is self-evident

Settlement in US dollars to withstand the depreciation wave of Cambodian currency (7% depreciation in 2024, stability as the top priority)

Looking at Egypt from afar, the minimum wage will soar to 7000 Egyptian pounds (about 270 yuan) by 2025, a 191% increase from 2022, and the GDP growth rate of 3.5% is far behind.

Cost fog: Behind the nominal increase, exchange rate inflation is intertwined, and actual costs may surge by 230% -280%, with hidden dangers looming

Compliance minefield: strict labor laws, salary error of 0.1%, account freeze, step by step alarming

Cultural divide: Details such as overtime subsidies during Ramadan are difficult to reconcile with traditional accounting, and a spiritual bridge needs to be built

It is even more important to be aware that the minimum wage in Egypt includes 14 statutory subsidies and 1.5 times the salary for overtime work. These details have posed new challenges for HR professionals in Chinese enterprises who are accustomed to "base salary+commission" and are caught off guard!

For Chinese companies that are setting sail or preparing to take off, Ocean edge's revelation is that the low-cost dividend is gradually diminishing, and overseas strategies need to be carefully considered and steadily advanced in order to demonstrate their wise nature.