How is it surprising that when a company has to hire out from the global talent pool, rather than the local one, they have to pay a premium?<p>If the local talent pool were that good (and hence worth the $$$), they wouldn't need to look outside it.<p>Flip the question around in your head; how do salaries for ex-pat Americans compare to the locals in foreign countries? I bet that an American working in Beijing/Dubai/Hong Kong makes more on average than the local equivalent does. Why? Because they aren't really equivalent.