ASE ranked No. 1 in pay to employees among TWSE-listed firms, TSMC 7th

Taipei, June 3 (CNA) The average pay to employees by ASE Technology Holding Co. hit the highest among the companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange's (TWSE) main board 2025, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) ranked seventh.

Data compiled by the TWSE, which runs the main board, showed ASE Technology, the world's largest IC packaging and testing services provider, paid its employees an average of NT$6.28 million (US$119,746) in 2025, up 40 percent from a year earlier.

TSMC, the world's largest contract chipmaker and the most profitable company in Taiwan, paid its employees NT$4.09 million on average in 2025, up 22.9 percent from a year earlier.

According to the TWSE, the pay disclosed by the listed companies included salaries, insurance payments, pensions and other welfare benefits but excluded pay to their board members.

High-speed IC designer Asmedia Technology Inc. took the second spot after paying its employees an average of NT$5.66 million in 2025. It was followed by printed circuit board maker Global Brands Manufacture Ltd. (NT$4.87 million), smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. (NT$4.60 million), and communication network IC designer Realtek Semiconductor Corp. (NT$4.51 million).

Rounding out the top 10 TWSE-listed companies in average pay to their employees were conglomerate Lien Hwa Industrial Holdings Corp. (NT$4.30 million), TSMC, cooling solution provider Asia Vital Components Co. (NT$3.91 million), Caliway Biopharmaceuticals Co. (NT$3.82 million), and wireless IC designer Airoha Technology Corp. (NT$3.71 million).

TWSE said the local semiconductor industry paid employees more than other industries on average in 2025 on the back of strong global AI demand.

In 2025, the 988 listed companies on the main board paid their employees NT$1.69 million on average, up 6.3 percent from a year earlier, the TWSE said.

In terms of the average wage, the TWSE said, these listed companies paid NT$1.46 million on average in 2025, up 6.6 percent from a year earlier.

According to the TWSE, excluding board members, the listed companies had a combined workforce of 1.27 million in 2025, up 2.1 percent from a year earlier, with select old economy industries such as food, tourism, building materials, shipping and retail seeing their workforces rise 3.3 percent.

The exchange said the local capital market was driven up by the tech industry and tech benefits in turn boosted consumption to help the service sector.

In the over-the-counter market, baseboard management controller designer Aspeed Technology Inc. gave its employees the largest average pay of NT$5.93 million to its employees.

It was followed by property developer Feei Cherng Develop Technology Co. (NT$4.63 million), online game developer International Games System Co. (NT$4.35 million), property development Allmind Holdings Corp. (NT$3.49 million), and imaging sensing solution supplier PixArt Imaging Inc. (NT$3.45 million).