Guangdong's provincial government has announced the launch of the country's
first investigation into how profitable enterprises distribute wages, state media reported. According to a report by the newspaper China Economic Daily, 12 companies will undergo investigation, among them Guangdong Development Bank Securities, Guangdong Telecom, Nanfang Daily and China Southern Airlines, as high wages in monopoly sectors raise
social equity issues. Figures from 2000 showed that the aviation transportation sector paid the annual highest average
salary at US$2,800 a year. Workers in the
securities industry were the biggest earners, earning US$6,606 annually, while workers in the forestry sector earned an average of US$589 annually, though wage gaps may be even larger due to other
benefits, like monthly allowances, employees in profitable firms receive.