Noble paid Frase US$20m even as firm loses billions

LONDON: Noble Group Ltd handed its outgoing co-chief executive officer Jeff Frase a remuneration package worth about US$20 million (RM78.12 million) last year, even as the commodity trader slumped to a record loss of almost US$5 billion.

The scale of the award, reported in Noble’s annual financial statements last week, is likely to provoke consternation as the embattled trading house attempts to secure agreement from its creditors and shareholders for a restructuring plan that would impose heavy losses.

The remuneration is more than the US$15 million than Noble has offered to pay holders of its perpetual bonds, which have a face value of US$400 million. Under the current debt restructuring plan, perpetual bondholders, which rank below other debt securities, will suffer a 96.25 per cent loss in face value.

Frase’s remuneration totalled US$20.2 million last year, according to Noble’s financial statements, of which US$3.5 million was a “share-based payment expense” and US$16.7 million described as “other emoluments”.