The Malaysian Insider

The Malaysian Insider

Page 1

Business

By Yow Hong Chieh

Aug 16, 2011

Genting director highest paid, Nazir took pay cut in 2010

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 16 — Genting Bhd paid a single director up to RM106 million last year while CIMB chief Datuk Seri Nazir Razak took a pay cut even as other top listed companies upped board payouts in 2010 on the back of improved economic conditions. According to a Malaysian Business survey, the top 20 companies forked out RM455.6 million last year, up 22 per cent from 2009, while close to 270 directors out of the 600 companies polled drew more than RM1 million in remuneration. Genting Bhd kept its top spot from 2009 with a total board payout of RM111.48 million, an increase of 21 per cent from 2009. The gaming conglomerate also had the highest remuneration band of RM106.65 million to RM106.7 million for a single director but did not name him. The top executive listed is its executive chairman and chief executive Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay. Coming in a distant second was IOI Corp Bhd, which paid its board RM56.29 million — up a whopping 71 per cent from the previous year — with almost all of it going to the plantation and property concern’s top executive, whose payout band was almost doubled from RM25-30 million to RM53.1 million. “We assume that the recipient was IOI Corp director and founder Tan Sri Lee Shin Cheng,” Malaysian Business said in a statement today. Genting subsidiary Genting Malaysia Bhd, which paid out more than RM42 million to its top executive, took third spot. The survey noted, however, that the payout might have been made to the same person after taking into account the possibility of double counting. Other companies that increased their board payout include YTL Corp Bhd (RM34.44 million from RM22.04 million), AirAsia Bhd (RM18.33 million from RM10.66 million) and Berjaya Corp Bhd (RM23.62 million from RM20.84 million). Malaysian Business also noted that some companies continued to dish out large remunerations to...