Has Renuka City's Thambiayah set a dangerous new trend

Younger, CEO's can create poison pills of this nature to prevent hostile takeovers even when the companies they are CEO's of, are run badly. Do the SEC and CSE require disclosure of such arrangements which should not be kept secret by Boards of Directors?

I’m aghast at how Ravi Thambiayah, the CEO of a closely controlled "family type," quoted company such as Renuka City has paid himself as much as a Rs 39 million - lump sum. This can spark a new trend. Younger, CEO's can create poison pills of this nature to prevent hostile takeovers even when the companies they are CEO's of, are run badly. Do the SEC and CSE require disclosure of such arrangements which should not be kept secret by Boards of Directors? In the case of unquoted companies what redress would a non director minority shareholder have? Over to you, Mr Registrar of Companies.

The views of the ICASL, CIMA, ACCA, ICSA and the SLID, the SEC and CSE and the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce on whether this is good governance and good corporate social responsibility must be sought.

International media have highlighted cases of excessive CEO pay and CEO's have resigned over these issues. It also does not look nice when this is being done in Sri Lanka at a time when the capital market is experiencing many ups and downs, the President is fighting a war at a terrible national cost, the war is affecting tourism, there is considerable anti-private sector propaganda, there is so much debate about the disparity of wealth and the Chintanaya of the current President is about the latter.

When the next revolution comes, after the Chintanaya types have aroused the wrath of the JVP types, I guess the Cabraals (Nivard is a director of the company) and Thambiayah's may have enough stacked away to face a long winter. But what of the others? Where does one look-for ethics and morals these days? I wonder.