Chinese New Year (CNY) Ang Bao Rates 2019: Why Ang Bao Guides Are Unhealthy?

16th January 2019

A stint in Bloomberg gifted me with a beer belly, which only grew larger when I moved on to become a Professional Trader. Now I turn caffeine into digestible finance-related content. You can contribute your thoughts like Ming Feng here.

2 min read

In Chinese tradition, the giving of Red Packet (Ang Pao) during Chinese New Year from the married to the unmarried (mainly children), is a meaningful one.

The actual significance of this tradition is mainly on the red packet. The money that comes in it is secondary, and an add on bonus for the recipient of the Ang Bao.

The meaning behind giving of red packets during Chinese New Year is a way for married working adults to share their wealth and blessings with the young ones.

On top of that, red colour in Chinese tradition signifies:

Good luck
Happiness

While the money in the red packet signifies luck.

How much should you be giving in your Ang Bao this CNY?

Giving of Ang Bao has a really great meaning behind it.

but when money is involved, things get a little complicated, and at times, tradition loses its meaning.

A commonly asked question, especially amongst newlywed couples, will be the amount to put in their red packet this Chinese New Year.

Well, here’s a few ways to look at it.

Pegging Ang Bao rate to the inflation rate

For those who are a little more into finance, inflation rate may play a key role in determining the Ang Bao rate this Chinese New Year.

I remember vividly that about 15 years ago in the year 2003, $2 was the minimum for Ang Bao rate. With this, if we were to factor in the consumer prices inflation rate since then

Year	Consumer prices inflation rate	Minimum Ang Bao rate
2003	0.5%	$2
2004	1.7%	$2.01
2005	0.5%	$2.04
2006	1.0%	$2.05
2007	2.1%	$2.07
2008	6.6%	$2.12
2009	0.6%	$2.26
2010	2.8%	$2.27
2011	5.2%	$2.34
2012	4.6%	$2.46
2013	2.4%	$2.57
2014	1.0%	$2.63
2015	-0.5%	$2.66
2016	-0.5%	$2.64
2017	0.9%	$2.63
2018	0.7%	$2.82
2019	-	$2.82

The minimum Ang Bao rate should then be $2.82 for the year 2019 then.

Well, definitely not the rate which we are looking at currently. Whoever told you it is $6 is wrong.

If we determine “CNY Ang Bao rate” 2019 by what is circulating online

We did a quick search on the rates online, and here are some of our findings for “Ang Bao rate”.

Relationship	Amount	Reason
Parents/ In-laws/ Grandparents	$250 - $800	Out of everyone, parents should get the most as a sign of respect.
Husband to Wife	$200 - $500	Husbands can opt to give their wives ang pows and vice versa. But this isn't a common practise in modern households.
Siblings	$50 - $200	Depending on how old your siblings are and whether they are working, this is a safe and reasonable amount to give.
Own Children	$50 - $200	Some parents choose to give more, but this is a general amount that most parents give.
Cousins/ Nieces/ Nephews	$10 - $20	They are not immediate family members, therefore can be given lower ang pow amounts.
Friends/ Children of friends	$2 - $8	As these are people who you would give the most out to (assuming you have a small family), you might want to keep the budget lower for this.

source: Asianmoneyguide

Relationship	Amount
Parents and in-laws	$200 - $500
Own Children and grandchildren	$50 - $200
Siblings	$30 - $100
Extended family	$18 - $38
Other children who visit	$2 - $8
Public workers	$5 - $10