The Hong Kong Government operates on the assumption that if it wants top people for top financial posts it has to pay top salaries.
That is why it pays Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Joseph Yam Chi-kwong about $8 million a year, far above what he could expect on the civil service pay scale.
That is also why it is now considering proposals to pay the managing director of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPF) $5 million a year plus bonus.
The reasoning is obvious enough. The MPF chief will be in a position to make or lose hundreds of millions of dollars for Hong Kong's pensioners.
If an extra million dollars in salary is the difference between the man who can make the money and the man who will lose it, then pay up. It is a cheap price.
It seems logical but actually it is not.