bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

THE first batch of 1993 annual reports has started coming in, and it's quickly becoming clear what's hot and what's not in 1994.

  And here's what's hot: big pay rises for directors.

  Bank of East Asia is always the first annual report from a Hang Seng index company, and its annual report shows that the directors have lifted their collective payout from $17.5 million to $22.3 million - a paltry increase of 28 per cent.

  Bank of East Asia has always been something of a pacesetter in this department. Last year's annual report revealed an increase of 30 per cent.

  At least the directors seem to have delivered some goodies for the business: profits were up 47 per cent - as far as anyone could tell given the veil which is draped over banking accounts.

  Over at training shoe makers Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings), the directors have also got their running shoes on when it comes to remuneration.

  Their payout has literally pole-vaulted - up more than 80 per cent to $26.9 million. That's not a bad cushion to land on.

  True, they pushed profits up 41 per cent, but it's interesting to wonder whether the people running a track shoe company - who number just six - need more reward than the 13 running Hong Kong's third biggest listed bank.

  As a little extra bonus, the share options issued to three directors in April are already worth more than $130 million.

  Directors of San Miguel Brewery Limited drank down a rise of 27 per cent, although their thirst is easily slaked: their total payout was just $3.4 million.

   Room at the top    INCIDENTALLY, the small print for new listing Yizheng Chemical Fibre shows that the 12 directors of this company, which will have a market value of $2.4 billion and a turnover of $4 billion, collect a basic salary of 360,000 yuan for their efforts.

  That's not each. That's collectively.

  Of course, they do get free lodging - even if it is in some pretty strange places.

  A Yizheng director called Chang Junchuan has the following address: Room 701, Entrance 52, in the Dormitory of the Institute of Textile Design in Beijing.

   Getting it Wong   THERE were about three dozen entries for the Lily Wong investment competition, many truly strange.

  Readers were asked to think of ways Lily Wong and Stuart could invest the $800,000 they made on the property market.

  Simon Walker of Pokfulam suggested establishing a joint venture to make and sell upmarket bus stops with corporate suites for sale to executives in a well-known African country.

  Graham Bethell of Tai Po had a scheme for making cash out of cat farming which appeared both profitable and highly ethically dubious. He's not getting the prize because we don't want to print details of the scheme - we're going to steal it ourselves.

  A number of people suggested putting the money in the bank and collecting the 0.00001 per cent interest. That way, when the Big Crash arrives they'll be left as the only solvent people in the territory.

   Ante-post tax    BUT the winner was Angela Doreen Ho of MacDonnell Road. When she was told she'd won the tenth Mercedes in the Lai See competition she could scarcely contain herself.

  ''Oh, yeah?'' she said, obviously delirious with glee.

  She didn't say she'd always wanted a Mercedes, didn't say she'd immediately ring all her friends, and didn't say she'd be able to take all her family out driving in the New Territories on a Sunday afternoon.

  ''I might teach my cats to play with it,'' she said.

  Angela's truly original suggestion was to buy some land in Happy Valley and Sha Tin. In fact, she suggested the thin strips of land that lie between the finishing posts. Based on the price of land in the respective areas, she calculates that strips about25 centimetres wide could be bought on each of the finishing posts on both tracks.

  The possibilities are endless. Tolls would be collected from horses, with an obvious advantage for those with Autotoll cards.

  Advertising would get great exposure but would have to be written in thin letters.

  But if property prices keep rising it'll soon be more profitable to erect a large, wedge-shaped building balanced on its point.



Some fancy footwork by track-shoe firm's board