Salary of HKMA head Joseph Yam tops list of public executive pay

Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief executive Joseph Yam Chi-kwong is the highest paid among 10 senior executives of statutory bodies and public organisations even after he took a pay cut last year, a legislative council paper revealed.

The paper, prepared for the Legco's panel on public service, showed Mr Yam will this year receive $8.22 million - $6.49 million in fixed salary and $1.73 million in variable income.

In comparison, US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan earns about $1.34 million a year, according to Central Banking Magazine, which also listed Mr Yam as the world's highest-paid central banker.

Mr Yam's salary already reflects a 10 per cent pay cut and a 40 per cent reduction in bonus. The pay cut took effect in October last year.

The 10 bodies surveyed were the monetary authority, Airport Authority, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation, Hong Kong Tourism Board, Trade Development Council, MPF Scheme Authority, Urban Renewal Authority, Securities and Futures Commission, the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation and the Mass Transit Railway Corporation.

The paper showed Andrew Sheng, chairman of the Securities and Futures Commission, was the second-highest paid executive. He is being paid $6.75 million.