Singapore: According to a new compensation survey by Mercer Human Resource consulting, CEOs in India are among the lowest paid in the Asia-Pacific region with an average base salary of $89,759 and annual total cash of $111,510, on an average.

In contrast CEOs in South Korea have emerged as the highest paid with the average base salary amounting to $384,123. Cash compensation, including bonuses and other payments, adds another $568,502 on average, according to the study.

South Korea is followed by CEOs in Hong Kong, whose salaries average $250,707 as base pay and $352,520 in average annual total cash, making them the second highest paid in the region.

CEOS in Singapore earn an average of $239,866 in annual base salary, but their total can be nearly double that amount, the survey said.

Compared with Taiwan, CEOs in Singapore are paid more than double what their counterparts earn - $114,914 in average base pay and $131,834 in direct cash on average.

In the Philippines, CEOs receive an average base salary of $44,496 and $51,519 in annual cash on average, about half what CEOs in Indonesia are paid.

Mercer''s study covered 2,300 companies.

Steve Gross, global leader of compensations at Mercer says that compensation has long been driven by such factors as historic pay levels, size of economy and competition for talent.

According to hi as companies become more globally mobile, they can shift some jobs to lower-cost locations, which impact pay levels among countries.