David Li Kwok-po, right, the chairman of Bank of East Asia and two other top executives at the lender saw their total remuneration rise 14 to 18 per cent last year, due mainly to the substantial jump in the value of the share options they were granted.
Mr Li's total remuneration increased to HK$27 million, up 14.28 per cent from a year ago, even as his bonus fell 5.66 per cent to HK$13.8 million, according to a statement by the bank posted on the Hong Kong stock exchange's website.
The value of his share options surged 407 per cent to HK$4.77 million last year, more than making up for the drop in his bonus. BEA shares jumped 87.85 per cent last year.
The total remuneration for executive directors Joseph Pang Yuk-wing and Chan Kay-cheung, rose about 18.36 per cent last year, to HK$9.57 million, as the value of their share options increased by about 180 per cent to HK$2.38 million.
This information was disclosed under new accounting rules mandating that companies put the cost of the share options granted to staff into the total payouts, instead of just showing the gain they might have made from exercising the options. Excluding the share options, Mr Li was paid HK$22 million, similar to last year but still higher than Joseph Yam Chi-kwong, the chief executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority, whose total remuneration was HK$9.97 million in 2005.
Mr Pang and Mr Chan also saw their bonus fall about 5.7 per cent to HK$3.54 million last year despite the bank achieving another record result, with a 25 per cent jump in profit to HK$3.4 billion for last year.