This year, Peter Ma, the chairman of China’s second largest life insurer, Ping An Insurance, became the target of thousands of angry Chinese, after the company revealed he earned Rmb66.16m ($9m) in 2007, nearly three times his pay in 2006.

Although his 2007 salary included a Rmb20m bonus, the news that his total compensation was more than that of HSBC chairman, Stephen Green, drew heavy criticism in China, where many people struggle to make ends meet.