SingTel CEO's annual pay falls 6% to $4.5m

SINGTEL'S chief executive officer Chua Sock Koong earned less in the financial year ending March 31, drawing just over $4.5 million in total compensation.

This was over $300,000 or 6 per cent less than the $4.9 million that Ms Chua, 55, took home in the previous financial year.

The figure comprised Ms Chua's $1.65 million salary and $2.88 million variable bonus, according to the telco's annual report released yesterday.

The telco's five other key management staff took home a total of $12.83 million.

Mr Allen Lew, chief executive officer of Group Digital Life and Singapore country head, was the second-highest earner. He received total compensation of $3.25 million - an approximately 4 per cent drop from the previous year - of which $2.03 million was in variable bonus.

On the other hand, Mr Paul O'Sullivan, chief executive of Group Consumer and Australia country head, took home more - his compensation rose 6 per cent to A$2.7 million (S$3.2 million).

Mr Bill Chang, chief executive of Group Enterprise, saw his pay cheque surge 20 per cent to $1.78 million.

SingTel posted a 3.4 per cent drop in revenue to $18.18 billion for the 2012-13 financial year, while its net profit fell 12 per cent to $3.51 billion.

Separately, SingTel released its fourth sustainability report yesterday. As a reflection of the telco's commitment to reducing its carbon footprint, it unveiled its inaugural scorecard on carbon emissions.

An internal survey carried out by SingTel showed that air travel contributed the most to its carbon emissions.

But the telco managed to reduce emissions by 23 per cent for the year by cutting business air travel and using more technology for staff communication.

The measure of carbon emissions will help its employees understand the importance of environmental issues, the telco said.

Also for the first time, SingTel unveiled a set of minimum standards that its vendors had to adhere to under a Supplier Code of Conduct.

The code outlines expectations for its vendors to meet minimum standards in areas such as child labour, human rights, health and safety, environment, bribery and corruption.

chngkeg@sph.com.sg

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