DISCLOSING the exact remuneration of Sakae Holdings’ chairman and chief executive officer, as well as its directors and other key management personnel, would “adversely impact” its operations and business, said the restaurant operator on Tuesday (Oct 25).

Due to the sensitive nature and confidentiality of remuneration, Sakae Holdings : 5DO 0% in a bourse filing said that disclosing such information would be prejudicial to the interests of the company, as well as its employees.

“There is keen competition for talent in the food and beverage industry and it is important that the company retain its competent and committed key personnel, regardless of their positions,” read the filing.

The restaurant operator was responding to queries from the Singapore Exchange (SGX) on how specific disclosure of the remuneration of chairman Douglas Foo and that of his sister Foo Lilian, who is Sakae’s CEO, would be prejudicial to the company over competitive reasons, considering the nature of their relationship to the company.

The queries from SGX came after the group’s 2022 annual report, released on Oct 18, did not contain specific disclosures of the remuneration of the siblings, as well as that of other directors. They were, instead, disclosed under remuneration bands.

Douglas Foo’s remuneration for the year was between S$750,000 and under S$1 million, while that of his sister was from S$500,000 to below S$750,000.

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The company had said that it was disclosing the remuneration of individual directors in bands of S$250,000, for competitive reasons.

“The Group remunerates its key management personnel competitively. To maintain confidentiality of staff remuneration and to prevent poaching of key management personnel in a highly competitive industry, the company discloses the remuneration of the key management personnel of the Group, in this report, in bands of S$250,000 without aggregate of total remuneration paid to the key management personnel,” read the annual report.

In its response to the SGX queries, Sakae reiterated that its remuneration packages are competitive enough to attract directors and key management personnel with the right experience and expertise to run the company.

It also noted that the board has a formal and transparent procedure for developing policies on director and executive remuneration, and for fixing the remuneration packages of individual directors and key management personnel. No director is involved in deciding his or her own remuneration, it added.