(Yicai Global) April 16 -- Zhu Xu, board secretary of China's biggest property developer by market capitalization, received the highest remuneration among executives holding the same position in mainland-listed companies last year, Yicai Global calculated based on corporate earnings reports.

Board secretary at China Vanke since January 2016, Zhu made CNY8.5 million (USD1.3 million) in 2018, excluding a taxed bonus of CNY5.7 million. Her salary was 44 percent more than that of the second-highest compensated.

The average salary for a board secretary at a mainland-listed firm rose nearly 10 percent to CNY661,900 (USD98,410) last year. At more than 1,400 publicly traded firms 15 percent of board secretaries earned more than CNY1 million, and 1 percent made over CNY3 million. Nearly half earned less than CNY500,000.

The duties of a board secretary include making sure that a company complies with relevant regulations. 

Remuneration has been on the rise in the past five years, while inequalities exist between different cities and sectors. First-tier cities topped the list, with the average board secretary in Shenzhen picking up CNY1.1 million, a lead of 31 percent over counterparts in Shanghai and 28 percent over peers in Beijing. Guangzhou ranked slightly higher than the national average at CNY688,800.

Those working in finance led with an average salary of CNY1.8 million, followed by real estate at 1.1 million. The board secretaries at seven brokerages were in the top 1 percent, earning an average CNY4.2 million, more than in 2017, despite last year's stock market plunge.

Editor: Emmi Laine