Taipei: Real estate agent and property developer JSL Construction and Development Co. led the average compensation rankings among companies listed on the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) in 2024, while contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. (TSMC) finished 14th.

According to Focus Taiwan, JSL Construction paid its employees total compensation of NT 4.78 million (US 159,701) on average in 2024, down 13.5 percent from a year earlier, but it still beat the amount paid by profitable listed tech giants, including TSMC, TWSE data showed.

In 2024, the average compensation (which includes salary, overtime, bonuses, and allowances) paid by TSMC rose 21.6 percent to hit about NT 3.33 million, the 14th highest among the listed companies on the market. The increase helped TSMC climb 10 notches from a year earlier in the 2024 rankings.

Communication network IC designer Realtek Semiconductor Corp. came in second with average compensation of NT 4.75 million, ahead of smartphone IC designer MediaTek Inc. (NT 4.63 million), IC packaging and testing services provider ASE Technology Holding Co. (NT 4.49 million), and conglomerate Namchow Holdings Co. (NT 4.12 million).

High-speed interface transmission chip designer Asmedia Technology Inc. took sixth place at NT 4.098 million, followed by investment firm GTM Holdings Corp. (NT 4 million), and printed circuit board maker Global Brands Manufacture Ltd. (NT 3.79 million).

TSMC’s application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) design unit Global Unichip Corp. came next at NT 3.63 million, followed by MediaTek’s wireless communications chip design unit Airoha Technology Corp. at NT 3.59 million.

On the over-the-counter (OTC) market, cloud solution provider ASPEED Technology Inc. took the top spot as the company paid its employees almost NT 5.46 million in average compensation in 2024, ahead of game developer International Games System Co. (NT 4 million), according to the Taipei Exchange, which runs the OTC market.