Yageo Corp (國巨) last year paid each member of its board of directors an average of NT$91.95 million (US$3.16 million), the highest among listed companies in Taiwan, data released yesterday by the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TWSE) showed.
Yageo’s directors’ compensation was 78 percent more than the NT$51.56 million they received a year earlier, which the passive components maker attributed to its 90 percent annual growth in net profit to NT$22.9 billion last year.
The compensation included salaries, stock rewards and other types of payment, but excludes any pay they receive for their management or employee roles, corporate data showed.
Photo: Chang Hui-wen, Taipei Times
CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控), the nation’s third-largest financial conglomerate by assets, fell from its top ranking last year, despite its average compensation for board directors growing 27 percent year-on-year to NT$73.54 million, TWSE data showed.
CTBC Financial said its compensation increased partly because the company’s share price rose last year, driving up the value of stock rights granted to its directors, it said in a filing.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, moved from second place in 2020 to third last year, in part because its average compensation fell 7.5 percent to NT$50.73 million last year from NT$54.89 million a year earlier, the data showed.
The other companies in the top 10 were either in the financial or technology sectors, except for Hotai Motor Co (和泰汽車), which distributes Toyota and Lexus vehicles in Taiwan. It ranked sixth with an average compensation of NT$32.17 million, the data showed.
Also among the top 10 were Yuanta Financial Holding Co (元大金控), China Development Financial Holding Corp (中華開發金控), Taishin Financial Holding Co (台新金控), LCD panel makers AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶), and smartphone camera lens maker Largan Precision Co (大立光).
The nation’s two largest financial conglomerates, Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) and Cathay Financial Holding Co (國泰金控), which ranked first and second respectively in terms of net profit last year, were more conservative about board compensation, the data showed.
Fubon Financial ranked 18th with an average compensation of NT$17.08 million, while Cathay Financial ranked 130th with an average compensation of NT$4.73 million.
Fubon Financial said in a filing to the TWSE that its compensation for board directors cannot exceed 0.3 percent of its net profit.
Cathay Financial said in a separate filing that its board compensation only made up 0.07 percent of its net profit last year, adding that it routinely reviews its pay policy.
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