A shareholder row is brewing over the decision by Rio Tinto, the UK mining group, to offer its senior executives the chance to receive options equivalent to five times basic salary. The usually accepted level of options grants in the UK is three times salary.

Details of the options package are provided in a research report on Rio by Manifest, the corporate governance agency. Manifest said: 'For 2001, the maximum grant of options will rise from 150% of base salary to 500%. Shareholders may be disappointed.'