3 in 10 Singapore firms did not disclose remuneration packages: study

The higher the remuneration, the less transparent the companies were in disclosing remuneration paid to top executives.

Over 30% of the companies either did not disclose or provided incomplete information on remuneration packages, according to a study.

Further, 23% who disclosed aggregate remuneration identified less than five key management personnel, whilst around 10% who disclosed identified more than five key management personnel.

The study titled “The Singapore Report on Remuneration Practices: Avoiding the Apaycalypse” was conducted by corporate governance advocate and professor of accounting Mak Yuen Teen, and MBA graduate and active investor Chew Yi Hong. It covered 609 companies listed on Singapore Exchange (SGX).

All companies covered in the report paid a total combined amount of $2.5b in the year ($4.1m average per company). The shareholders paid $188m for non-executive and independent directors ($50,000 to $4m average per company).

For companies that provided exact remuneration, the executive chairman has a maximum of $8.4m, while the CEOs has a maximum of $12.9m. For non-executive directors, remuneration has a maximum of $71,500 for small caps, $60,000 for mid caps, and $150,000 for large caps.

Subsequently, there were 13 companies who complied with the 2012 Singapore Code of Corporate Governance “Remuneration Matters” guidelines. Amongst the companies include Baker Technology, Dynamic Colours, Nera Telecommunications and SP Corporation.