GGRAsia – Lim Kok Thay 2020 pay halved GEN Singapore tells bourse

Lim Kok Thay 2020 pay halved GEN Singapore tells bourse

Mar 26, 2021 Newsdesk Latest News, Singapore, Top of the deck

Genting Singapore Ltd, the promoter of Singapore’s Resorts World Sentosa casino complex, says the company’s executive chairman, Lim Kok Thay, received less than SGD5 million (US$3.7 million) as his remuneration for full-year 2020, halved from the previous year.

Mr Lim is the current head of the Genting group’s founding dynasty.

According to disclosures in Genting Singapore’s 2020 annual report, Mr Lim was said to have received an aggregate remuneration of between SGD21.25 million and SGD21.50 million last year, compared with a minimum pay of SGD9.50 million in 2019.

But in a Friday filing in a reply to an enquiry from the Singapore Exchange, Genting Singapore explained that a “significant proportion” of Mr Lim’s 2020 remuneration was “attributable to an accounting accrual” that was made for the period up to December 31, 2020. That was in respect of a “contingent bonus” of SGD35 million granted to Mr Lim in relation to the group’s plan to bid for a casino licence in Japan.

The so-called “Japan Project Incentive Award” is conditional upon the company “being successful in the bid” for a Japan casino resort, with 50 percent to be paid upon the company being selected by a local government in Japan as a casino resort operator there, and the balance 50 percent upon certification by Japan’s national government of that prefecture as a host for a casino resort.

“No payment of this incentive award will be made if the company is not successful in the bid for the Japan integrated resort,” stated the casino firm.

Genting Singapore has declared itself a contender for a Japan casino licence, specifically in Yokohama city. A maximum of three casino resorts will be permitted in Japan under a first phase of market liberalisation.

In its statement, Genting Singapore said that while there is no guarantee that Mr Lim will receive payment of this incentive award, the company has “accrued the relevant portion of this incentive award for fiscal-year 2020 and included such accrual as part of the executive chairman’s overall compensation for the year.”

“As of the date hereof, none of the SGD35 million has been paid out to the executive chairman as the payment conditions have not been met,” stated the firm.

“Excluding such accrual, the executive chairman received less than SGD5 million as his remuneration for fiscal-year 2020, which is more than a 50 percent reduction over the previous year,” said Genting Singapore.

It added: “This reduction in remuneration was a result of the group’s business being badly affected by Covid-19 which resulted in the cancellation of performance shares granted in 2020 and no performance bonus being paid in respect of fiscal-year 2020. As of to-date, the executive chairman continues to take basic salary cut of up to 30 percent since March 2020.”