Chairmen pay should 'reflect commitment'

Chairmen of Singaporean corporations ought to be remunerated for the time and commitment they give to board leadership.

That is according to the Corporate Governance and Financial Reporting Centre (CGFRC), which suggested that senior non-executives should be compensated depending on their experience and responsibility.

These comments were made in response to the director of the Singapore Exchange Low Check Kian's suggestion earlier this week that the $750,000 annual salary of its chairman Joe Pillay is a "bargain".

Writing for Business Times, Mak Yuen Teen, co-director of the CGFRC, also suggested that non-executives should never have their remuneration tied to short-term performance.

He wrote: "Companies ought to reflect on whether their chairmen are spending enough time leading the board, and if not, whether they should be spending more time and be compensated accordingly for increased commitment."

Earlier this month, Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Singapore's minister for finance, urged the country's non-executives to learn from the governance mistakes highlighted by the recession.