Lenovo CEO on track to defend title as highest-paid executive

Lenovo CEO Yang Yuanqing
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Yang Yuanqing of Chinese PC maker Lenovo is likely to once again be named the highest-paid CEO in China, on track to earn US$14.2 million this year, according to the company's annual fiscal report.

The Chinese version of Forbes magazine also named Yang the highest-earning senior executive at a listed company in the country last year, when he earned US$11.8 million. That figure was already eight times that of the next highest-paid executive, Ma Mingzhe, then-chairman of Ping An Insurance. Yang's earnings have since increased by 20%.

The Lenovo CEO's earnings include base salary of US$1.07 million, a US$5.16-million performance bonus, a long-term incentive plan worth US$7.75 million, as well as US$107,000 in retirement funds and US$117,000 of other benefits, as of March this year.

The biggest increase has been in his performance bonus, as Lenovo's sales have leapt 37% to US$29.6 billion. The PC maker's net profits reached US$470 million and increased 73% last year. Its market share also went up 12%, meaning the company has replaced Dell as the world's second-largest PC maker, after Hewlett-Packard.

Lenovo saw its best-ever performance in terms of market share and earnings last fiscal year, after Yang took the helm in November. The company was the fastest-growing PC maker over the past ten quarters, and is is now the top-selling computer brand in emerging markets.

Yang said Lenovo will this year focus on new products such as smartphones, tablet computers and smart TVs, as well as consumer markets and small and medium size enterprises overseas.