Beijing's State-owned enterprises (SOEs) were required to give an annual bonus to staff earlier than past years, so as to reach the targeted 7 percent annual growth of urban per capita disposable income, according to the Economic Observer.

Zhang Wei, a staff member at a State-owned real estate enterprise in Beijing, said that all the SOEs owned by the municipal government, district, and county-level government have to pay the bonus nearly two months ahead of the original scheduled date.

"My friends from other SOEs, such as Beijing Infrastructure Investment and Hua- xia Bank, all heard the news. Some companies will pay bonus in full, but some will give 80 percent first and the rest later," he said.

An executive from an SOE, who chose to remain anonymous, revealed that this was suggested by the municipal government.

"It's an urgent issue. All the enterprises should complete this task by the end of November," the person said.

China set the 7 percent target as part of the 12th Five-Year Plan period (2011-15) at the parliament's annual session in March of this year.

However, statistics from Beijing Municipal Bureau of Statistics show that prices grew by 5.9 percent between January and October. Urban residents' per capita disposable income increased by 11.5 percent, and rural residents' per capita cash income also jumped by 13 percent over the 10 months. Deducting the net price increase, the urban and rural residents' per capital income grew by 5.6 percent and 7.1 percent respectively.

The Economic Observer reported that the government held a conference early this month, to motivate every department and enterprise to cooperate to increase income and decrease prices.

Soon after the conference, the civil affairs bureau began dispensing the temporary living allowance for those in need in Beijing, a total of 200 yuan ($31) per person.

The local government couldn't be reached for comment yesterday.

A employee at China State Construction Engineering Corporation, a Top 500 enterprise in China, who also chose to remain anonymous, told the Global Times that she had yet to receive a bonus.

"It's none of our business since my company isn't directly administrated by the Beijing municipal government. However, some of my friends working at other construction agencies owned by the local government mentioned this without indicating whether it was a rumor," the employee said.

The expectation also bothers some employees at those enterprises, since the bonus also means extra taxes.

"The tax preferential policy can be applied to the annual bonus once a year for each person. But bonuses granted early mean we have to pay higher taxes for the second bonus in a year, without any preferential policy," a staff member at an SOE's financial department, surnamed Li, told the Economic Observer.

Su Hainan, a deputy director of the China Association for Labor Studies, challenged the report's fidelity.

"I don't believe the Beijing government will take such measures. If the report proves to be true, it is not proper to get desired results through such rash actions," Su pointed out.

Annual bonuses should be calculated according to a staff member's performance over the whole year, not before the end of the year, Su said.