Dr Gregory Hii
SIBU: The trend of chief executive officers (CEOs) drawing astronomical salaries has landed on Malaysian shores with some pocketing more than RM3 million per annum.
An investor Dr Gregory Hii in when stating this yesterday, said this should raise alarm bells for shareholders as some of these companies were reported to be making losses yet their CEO’s were still raking in millions.
Citing a study on the top 50 CEOs of listed companies in Malaysia, he was appalled that among them, two commanded a salary of well over RM50 million per year.
“That is an exorbitantly high pay if you ask me. And there were instances where some companies were making losses yet their CEO’s were still paid handsomely putting extra pressure on the firms.
“The onus is on investors to see if drawing of such pay is justifiable,” Dr Hii told The Borneo Post when asked if CEOs in Malaysia were better paid than their counterparts in developed nations such as the United States.
To rectify the situation, he suggested that salaries be tied down to the basics and company’s profitability, reiterating that “there were instances of firms losing money yet their CEOs walked home with fat cheques.”
He recalled years back, CEOs in the western world were already drawing big fat salaries and it was not expected that such a trend would land on Malaysia’s shores.
“Many investors here were dumb-founded by the dawning of such a trend which they had all the while perceived would not happen in developing countries,” he noted.
Again citing the study, he said one of the CEOs mentioned managed two companies and took home a shocking RM148 million in pay a year.
Another, he said, pocketed RM50 million in pay – being the two highest paid CEOs among the top 50 listed companies in Malaysia.
“On average, the top 50 CEOs in these listed companies were paid in excess of RM3 million a year,” Dr Hii said.SIBU: The trend of chief executive officers (CEOs) drawing astronomical salaries has landed on Malaysian shores with some pocketing more than RM3 million per annum.
An investor Dr Gregory Hii when stating this yesterday, said this should raise alarm bells for shareholders as some of these companies were reported to be making losses yet their CEO’s were still raking in millions.
Citing a study on the top 50 CEOs of listed companies in Malaysia, he was appalled that among them, two commanded a salary of well over RM50 million per year.
“That is an exorbitantly high pay if you ask me. And there were instances where some companies were making losses yet their CEOs were still paid handsomely putting extra pressure on the firms.
“The onus is on investors to see if drawing of such pay is justifiable,” Dr Hii told The Borneo Post when asked if CEOs in Malaysia were better paid than their counterparts in developed nations such as the United States.
To rectify the situation, he suggested that salaries be tied down to the basics and company’s profitability, reiterating that “there were instances of firms losing money yet their CEOs walked home with fat cheques.”
He recalled years back, CEOs in the western world were already drawing big fat salaries and it was not expected that such a trend would land on Malaysia’s shores.
“Many investors here were dumb-founded by the dawning of such a trend which they had all the while perceived would not happen in developing countries,” he noted.
Again citing the study, he said one of the CEOs mentioned managed two companies and took home a shocking RM148 million in pay a year.
Another, he said, pocketed RM50 million in pay – being the two highest paid CEOs among the top 50 listed companies in Malaysia.
“On average, the top 50 CEOs in these listed companies were paid in excess of RM3 million a year,” Dr Hii said.