Emerging economies, led by the UAE, top the list of countries with a high managerial spending capacity, according to the 2008 World Pay Report by Hay Group.

The report placed UAE second worldwide in terms of managerial spending capacity. Qatar, a new entrant, topped the report in terms of disposable income, said a report in the Gulf News.

Gulf economies have ranked higher among the spenders despite the sharp rise in cost of living. Managers in Qatar and the UAE have almost two-and-a-half times the spending power of US managers, said the report.

'We are not witnessing economies in the Gulf region of the Middle East going through a credit crunch. Although their disposable income has fallen over the last year, managers in most of the Gulf countries continue to be at the top of the table,' said Vijay Gandhi of the Hay Group Middle East.

According to the World Pay Report, senior managers continue to get a salary increase of between 15 to 20 per cent, which is very aggressive compared to most other countries.

Among Asians, the disposable incomes with spending power of senior managers in Hong Kong are almost double that of their US counterparts. Managers in Hong Kong enjoy the highest pay with low taxes, about a quarter more than those in other Asian countries.

Thailand, China, Singapore and Malaysia also fall into the top half of the rankings, while the more developed economies of South Korea and Japan are on par with their Western Europe and North American counterparts.

'The shortage of management talent in China's booming economy means companies need to pay over the odds to find and keep management talent, in comparison with more developed markets such as Singapore,' said Charlotte Park of Hay Group Asia.

By contrast, disposable income in India (ranked 38th in the table) is low compared to other emerging economies, making India a value for money, high-quality talent destination for employers.