Genting Group boss Lim Kok Thay has reportedly offered to take a 20% pay cut in order to offset the impact of a recent increase in Malaysia’s gaming taxes.
According to Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily, Lim made the offer during Genting Malaysia’s annual general meeting on Wednesday in a move that brought widespread applause from shareholders.
However, it remains unclear whether he was referring only to his pay from Genting Malaysia or from parent company Genting Berhad. As previously reported by Inside Asian Gaming, Lim was recently named Malaysia’s highest paid CEO in 2018 with combined pay of MYR248.6 million (US$59.9 million). The figure included MYR168 million (US$40.5 million) in his role as Executive Chairman and CEO of Genting Berhad and another MYR80.6 million as Chairman of Genting Malaysia.
It has been noted that even with a 20% reduction on either of those amounts, Lim would still have ranked number one in Malaysia in 2018.
The Malaysian government last year announced a higher tax hike than had been expected with the annual casino license fee rising from MYR120 million (US$28.8 million) to MYR150 million (US$36 million) and the tax on gross gaming income jumping from 25% to 35%.
