KUALA LUMPUR, May 28 — Government-linked corporation (GLC) IHH Healthcare Bhd today defended its multi-million ringgit compensation for its CEO.
The GLC, which runs 14 Pantai and Gleneagles Hospitals in Malaysia, said its CEO remuneration was based on market rates meant to attract the best talent and that it was also performance-linked.
“So the amount depends on those factors. It could change,” IHH chairman Mohammed Azlan Hashim told a press conference after the company’s 9th annual general meeting.
Outgoing IHH CEO Dr Tan See Leng, who made about RM34 million last year, is the fifth-highest paid CEO in Malaysia.
Dr Tan, who will be retiring on December 31, highlighted IHH’s strong financial performance in the 2018 financial year, pointing out that PATMI (profit after tax and minority interests) excluding exceptionals increased 73 per cent year-on-year to a record high of RM1.03 billion.
“As at the end of last year, IHH has reinforced its position internationally as the largest health care provider in Asia. We now have a global portfolio of 83 hospitals across 12 countries,” Dr Tan said at the press conference.
When asked if the Health Ministry’s proposed price controls for drugs would affect IHH and if IHH would publish a price list for standard procedures in its hospitals, Dr Tan said IHH was working with the government and the Association of Private Hospitals of Malaysia to propose the “best possible approach” to these issues.
“It is still early days into what is being proposed by the government. No specific measures are being introduced yet. We will respond appropriately when it comes to that time,” he said.
Dr Tan will be succeeded by Columbia Asia CEO Dr Kelvin Loh on January 1 next year.
