Performance not a factor in Hong Kong CEO pay scale, study finds

The pay of chief executives and the performance of the companies they run have little in common suggests a report on Hong Kong listed firms that also revealed the paucity of women in the boardroom.

"Changes in total CEO remuneration value is not always obviously linked to performance. Results are mixed when we examine the relationship between company profit increases and CEO total remuneration increases," said Thomas Higgins, general manager of Hay Group Hong Kong, publisher of the report.

In a study of annual reports from 233 listed companies, Hay Group found only 15 per cent of firms used long-term incentive schemes such as stock options to reward CEOs last year. Higgins said this was linked to the high percentage of family controlled firms and the reluctance of owners to share equity with outsiders.

"Since the global financial crisis, shareholders and regulators want to see clear links between organisation performance and executive reward," he said.

Some 48 per cent of firms covered were identified as having significant family ownership.

"Most family controlled businesses are not keen to give up equity and yet in recent years, they are able to attract great outside talent," said Annie Koh, a professor at Singapore Management University and specialist in family run businesses.