Among last year’s 318 loss-making listed companies, 283 firms paid salaries and bonuses to their board directors, with LCD panel maker AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) leading the way by paying NT$2.7 million (US$84,450) per person on average, the latest data released by the stock exchange regulator showed on Friday.
The 318 listed firms include 141 companies trading their shares on the main bourse, the Taiwan Stock Exchange, and 177 on the over-the-counter GRETAI Securities Market.
AUO, which posted NT$26.77 billion in net losses last year, beat automotive components maker Jui Li Enterprise Co (瑞利企業) into second place, which made a loss of NT$56 million last year but provided its board with NT$2.18 million per person on average in compensation.
In third place on the compensation list among loss-making companies for last year was Cosmos Bank Taiwan (萬泰銀行), whose board received NT$1.78 million per person, followed by Johnson Health Tech Co (喬山健康) with NT$1.72 million and Union Insurance Co (旺旺保險) with NT$1.60 million each.
As for profit-making listed companies, tire maker Cheng Shin Rubber Industry Co (正新橡膠) topped the list of compensation by paying its board directors NT$36.28 million per person last year, on a net profit of NT$13.43 billion.
Footwear products maker Pou Chen Corp (寶成工業), which earned NT$7.03 billion last year, came in second place with NT$25.47 million for board compensation per person.
Computer and peripherals maker Inventec Corp (英業達) was third with NT$18.83 million, followed by textile products manufacturer Far Eastern New Century Corp (遠東新世紀) with NT$18.58 million. In fifth place was leading PC vendor Acer Inc (宏碁), which paid NT$14.07 million to each of its board directors last year.
The rankings of board compensation among listed companies were calculated based on salaries, bonuses, retirement pensions and business-related expenses the firms offered to their board members, excluding salaries paid to board directors who also hold executive positions within the company, the stock exchange said in the statement on Friday.
If the board directors’ executive salaries were included, the rankings of board compensation would have been different, with Acer leading all listed firms with NT$58.87 million per person, followed by handset chip designer MediaTek Inc (聯發科) with NT$52.27 million and leading contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) in third with NT$48.85 million, according to the stock exchange’s data.
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