Friday, March 30, 2007

SingTel's new CEO annual pay around S$5m

SingTel's new CEO to get S$75,000 a month, annual pay around S$5m
Posted: 30 March 2007 2234 hrs

SINGAPORE: SingTel's incoming CEO, Chua Sock Koong, will be paid a base salary of S$75,000 a month. Ms Chua is set to start her appointment on Sunday.

In a statement to Singapore Exchange, the telco says her salary will be reviewed at the board of directors' discretion each year.

In addition, she will be paid car and driver allowances amounting to S$5,500 per month.

Besides annual short term incentive payments, she will be entitled to participate in SingTel's long term incentive plan through performance shares.

SingTel's statement adds that the on-target total remuneration for Ms Chua is expected to be around S$5m for the financial year to next March.

If she exceeds her prescribed targets, SingTel's board can decide to pay her more based on her performance and market benchmarks.

Meantime, SingTel threw an in-house staff party for outgoing CEO Lee Hsien Yang.

In a speech, Mr Lee said his time at SingTel has been "incredibly fulfilling".

"If I could turn the clock back, I'd do it again. But let me say that, I suppose at some point in time, I need to move on. I know it's good for me and I know it's good for the company. Let me say that I've really enjoyed my time here," he said. - CNA/yy

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

M1 CEO paid up to $1.5m in 2006

Published March 21, 2007

M1 CEO paid up to $1.5m in 2006

MOBILEONE, the smallest of three mobile-phone companies in Singapore, paid chief executive officer Neil Montefiore between $1.25 million and $1.5 million in 2006, according to the company's annual report.

Mr Montefiore, 54, was given 880,000 share options last year. In 2005, he was paid a similar salary and awarded one million share options.

M1 reported a 2.2 per cent rise in net income to $164.6 million in 2006 on sales of $773 million. Shares of M1 were unchanged at $2.19 at the close of trading yesterday. The stock has increased 1.9 per cent this year, compared with the 4.4 per cent advance in the Straits Times Index. - Bloomberg

Thursday, March 08, 2007

DBS paid CEO between S$7.5m and S$7.75m in 2006

DBS paid CEO between S$7.5m and S$7.75m in 2006
By Jeana Wong, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 07 March 2007 2326 hrs

SINGAPORE : DBS has said it paid Chief Executive Officer Jackson Tai between S$7.5 million and S$7.75 million last year.

That was one-third more than in 2005, and in tandem with the group's earnings growth excluding one-off gains.

Last year, when DBS released its annual report, eyebrows were raised over the pay for head honchos Jackson Tai and Frank Wong.

They received big pay rises in 2005 despite the bank chalking up a 59 percent drop in earnings over 2004.

It was thus no surprise that their pay was in the spotlight on Wednesday, at the news briefing to release their 2006 annual report.

DBS Bank said the pay package for Mr Tai was being presented differently this year.

It is now reporting his total remuneration in a given year, regardless of when the actual payouts were made.

The variable component of the CEO's salary - such as bonuses and share plans - makes up 71 percent of the overall compensation.

This is sharply higher than the norm of just 30 percent in other corporations.

Chief Operating Officer Frank Wong was also paid between S$7.5 million and S$7.75 million.

Excluding Mr Tai and Mr Wong, the bank paid its 15 other management committee members a total of S$15 million in 2006.

DBS said it employed more senior management than its local rivals UOB and OCBC.

It also justified its decision to pay a director's fee of S$250,000 each for almost all its directors.

Mr Tai said, "Six of them are not from Singapore or not based in Singapore. I'm very proud of all 12 and it's quite a task to get these directors to chair our risk management committee, our nominating committee. We have a compensation committee, we have a credit committee, we also have a strategy and planning committee, so it's a lot of work involved.

"We look at industry practice. We want to make sure that we have the ability to keep and also attract the best directors we can."

A recent survey by human resources company ECA International revealed that senior managers in Singapore earned about five times more than junior-level managers.

At the press briefing on Wednesday, Mr Tai also dismissed rumours that he was hired on a contractual basis and might be leaving at the end of his contract. - CNA/ms