<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0><TBODY><TR>And if the writer is not an ang moh, dun expect this letter to be published!
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<!-- headline one : start --><TR>Time to get real about CEO pay hikes
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<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->IT WAS rather alarming to read on Monday of vast pay increases to chief executive officers and other company bosses ('Singapore's top CEOs get fat pay rises.'').
Very little in the way of revenue or profit growth last year seems to have resulted from their efforts or abilities. Most of it came about as a matter of course from the worldwide economic bubble which is now obviously in the process of deflating.
The share prices of companies mentioned in the article are largely back where they were at the start of the year or worse, and are continuing to slide.
The Straits Times Index was down 29.7 per cent from its Oct 11, 2007 peak of 3,831 when it closed at 2,691 yesterday.
Shareholders have had no benefit from CEO rewards.
Markets have voted and they are not expecting performance or results. So where do CEO pay levels come from, other than a self-perpetuating spiral of incestuous comparison with one another?
CEOs in Singapore are no doubt dedicated and hard working but are generally unexceptional and not obviously jumping ship for better-paying similar positions elsewhere in the world.
=> Just like the Papayas, who would otherwise be jobless outside of the big Familee?
Most would probably have been quite happy doing the same job for a fraction of the pay - but for the comparisons dance.
=> Just like the Papayas, who are but useless eunuchs without the protection of the Old Fart?
Being a CEO is not difficult. Other people do most of the work for you. The corporate shenanigans of top bosses' pay do not resonate much in the wider community, as the beneficiaries are little known and it is taken on trust that it is somehow justifiable and necessary for the greater economic good.
The special pleading of 'industry experts' to this effect occupied almost half of the article.
Where it might resonate more is in the mechanistic link in Singapore between the well-publicised pay of government ministers and, among others, top CEO pay.
Outsized compulsory pay rises foisted on no doubt reluctant politicians can cause more embarrassment than is worthwhile and would perhaps be unwelcome in times of rising inflation and falling real wages.
Using the considerable government shareholding power in major Singapore companies to force a greater sense of reality on over-generous remuneration committees might serve to kick-start a necessary process of sobering up for the benefit of all.
Roger Hancock
Home > ST Forum > Story
</TR>
<!-- headline one : start --><TR>Time to get real about CEO pay hikes
</TR><!-- headline one : end --><!-- show image if available --></TBODY></TABLE>
<!-- START OF : div id="storytext"--><!-- more than 4 paragraphs -->IT WAS rather alarming to read on Monday of vast pay increases to chief executive officers and other company bosses ('Singapore's top CEOs get fat pay rises.'').
Very little in the way of revenue or profit growth last year seems to have resulted from their efforts or abilities. Most of it came about as a matter of course from the worldwide economic bubble which is now obviously in the process of deflating.
The share prices of companies mentioned in the article are largely back where they were at the start of the year or worse, and are continuing to slide.
The Straits Times Index was down 29.7 per cent from its Oct 11, 2007 peak of 3,831 when it closed at 2,691 yesterday.
Shareholders have had no benefit from CEO rewards.
Markets have voted and they are not expecting performance or results. So where do CEO pay levels come from, other than a self-perpetuating spiral of incestuous comparison with one another?
CEOs in Singapore are no doubt dedicated and hard working but are generally unexceptional and not obviously jumping ship for better-paying similar positions elsewhere in the world.
=> Just like the Papayas, who would otherwise be jobless outside of the big Familee?
Most would probably have been quite happy doing the same job for a fraction of the pay - but for the comparisons dance.
=> Just like the Papayas, who are but useless eunuchs without the protection of the Old Fart?
Being a CEO is not difficult. Other people do most of the work for you. The corporate shenanigans of top bosses' pay do not resonate much in the wider community, as the beneficiaries are little known and it is taken on trust that it is somehow justifiable and necessary for the greater economic good.
The special pleading of 'industry experts' to this effect occupied almost half of the article.
Where it might resonate more is in the mechanistic link in Singapore between the well-publicised pay of government ministers and, among others, top CEO pay.
Outsized compulsory pay rises foisted on no doubt reluctant politicians can cause more embarrassment than is worthwhile and would perhaps be unwelcome in times of rising inflation and falling real wages.
Using the considerable government shareholding power in major Singapore companies to force a greater sense of reality on over-generous remuneration committees might serve to kick-start a necessary process of sobering up for the benefit of all.
Roger Hancock
