GENEROUS payouts to Lai Sun Group directors were passively accepted by minority shareholders at the annual general meeting which was closed to the media yesterday.
Lai Sun Development director Julius Lau Shu-yan said: 'We did not receive any objections from minority shareholders during the meeting or any protest by proxy.' A Lai Sun spokesman said majority shareholders were not allowed to vote on the issue. However, some minority shareholders said objections would have been futile.
One, who claimed he had held 100,000 shares for almost six years, said: 'It [directors' emoluments] seems to be too high.' Directors of both the holding company Lai Sun Garment (International) and property development arm Lai Sun Development doubled their pay to nearly $100 million.
Group chairman Lim Por-yen decided to hand back almost all of a $50 million 'special bonus' he was awarded.
'Compared with other powerful enterprises such as New World Development and Hang Seng Bank, the directors' emoluments in Lai Sun are really high,' said Mr So, a minority shareholder who said he had 30,000 shares in Lai Sun Development and 15,000 shares in Lai Sun Garment.
