The figures are similar for Europe, I make it about 12% at todays exchange rate, assuming the Hkg capt gets 13th month but excluding housing. Many of those choosing to remain on a base are doing it for the sake of their children, and when you take into consideration the cost of schooling in Hkg (the company don't pay anything like the % of schooling costs that they'd have you believe) then the earnings differential swings even further towards those choosing to stay on or take a base.
These figures when combined with the likelyhood of not having the option of going on a base until you're a very senior captain would neem to make deferring your command on a base seem like a good option for many.
I'm lucky in that I like both Europe and Hkg and am fairly happy living in either country but I'd hate to be in the position af wanting to go home but not having the option to do so for another 5 years or more. Of course the desperate could apply for a freighter command but then you'd be spending more time away from home than you'd be spending in it anyway, so that doesn't look like a particularly tasty option either!
I'm sure I'm not the only person to have counted the number of available basings vs the number of requests, and once the slack has been taken up by DEFO's, I'd predict that most of the bases will be full before the next bidding period. So the company gets what they want (full bases) but have they looked into the unintended consequences?
Probably not.