Genting Singapore has claimed that its Chairman and CEO – Genting Group boss Lim Kok Thay – had his pay slashed by half in 2020, despite the company’s Annual Report, released last week, appearing to show his pay more than doubling.
According to the Annual Report, Lim’s total remuneration was in the range of SG$21.25 million to SG$21.50 million (US$15.8 million to US$16.0 million) in 2020 (the company reports executive remuneration in bands of SG$250,000), considerably higher than the SG$9.5 million to SG$9.75 million (US$7.1 million to US$7.2 million) previously disclosed for 2019. That’s despite Genting Singapore seeing its net profit fall 90% year-on-year to SG$69.2 million (US$51.4 million) due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The disparity prompted the Singapore Exchange to issue a “please explain” to the company last Thursday, to which Genting Singapore replied via a Friday filing that just over 80% of Lim’s 2020 remuneration of SG$21.25 million to SG$21.50 million was in fact an accounting accrual of a portion, apparently 50%, of a potential SG$35 million bonus. The bonus will be paid to Lim under a “Chairman’s Japan Project Incentive Award” should Genting Singapore win an integrated resort license in Japan.
None of that bonus has actually been paid yet, Genting Singapore added, meaning the amount of pay Lim has received for 2020 sits at less than SG$5 million (US$3.7 million). Notably, Lim will receive the entire SG$35 million bonus should it win a Japan IR license, however he will still receive 50% if selected by Yokohama, or any other Japanese local government, as their preferred operator – irrespective of whether the company ultimately wins its bid at the national level.
Genting Singapore is currently focusing its bid in Yokohama, hoping to become the city’s IR partner and proceed to the national selection process next year.
Under Japan’s revised Basic Policy, candidate cities and their selected operator will have from October 2021 until April 2022 to submit their bids, with up to three locations to subsequently be granted licenses.
Genting Singapore also told the Singapore Exchange on Friday that 750,000 performance shares granted to Lim in 2020 had lapsed this year “due to the poor business performance in FY2020”, as had 125,000 share awards granted to each of three other directors. Another 500,000 share awards granted to each of those same directors in 2020 relate to the company’s Japan IR bid and will only vest if that bid proves successful.
Genting Singapore’s President and COO Tan Hee Teck saw his stated pay fall from between SG$6.25 million and SG$6.50 million (US$4.6 million and US$4.8 million) in 2019 to between SG$2.75 million and SG$3.0 million (US$2.0 million and US$2.2 million) in 2020, although 81.2% of that 2020 pay was listed as salary and just 17% as bonus, with the remainder being director’s fees.
“Since March 2020, the management has taken a basic salary cut of up to 30%, with no Performance Bonus for FY2020 and Performance Shares granted in 2020 were cancelled in view of the poor business performance,” Genting Singapore said.
“On the whole, the remuneration package for the Directors and key management personnel for FY2020, excluding the accruals related to the Japan IR project incentive awards, was reduced by more than 50% when compared to the previous year.”
