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ShareSoc advises investors to reject Anglo American CEO pay packet

(Adds comment from company)

LONDON, April 14 (Reuters) - Investor (LSE: 0NC5.L - news) interest group ShareSoc says Anglo American (LSE: AAL.L - news) 's proposed remuneration for CEO Mark Cutifani is too high and urged shareholders to reject it at next week's annual general meeting.

The mining giant, which posted steep losses last year due to the slump in commodity prices, has sought to offset poor trading conditions with a restructuring plan that led to a 50 percent reduction in head office costs and the closure of 20 mines since 2013, ShareSoc said.

However, CEO remuneration has not been reduced to reflect the smaller, simpler company that Anglo now is, the group added.

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ShareSoc said Cutifani was still set to receive 6.3 million pounds ($8.9 mln) for target performance and 8.8 million pounds for "above" target performance.

"We consider the pay of the CEO to be too high, and particularly so in a year when the company suffered a loss of $5.6 billion in 2015 and dividends were suspended," the group said in a statement on Thursday.

ShareSoc represents individual investors who invest in the UK stock markets.

News (Other OTC: NWSAL - news) of its opposition to Anglo American's pay proposals came as 59.1 percent of investors in BP voted down the oil company's plan to pay its CEO Bob Dudley a $19.6 million remuneration package.

Shares (Berlin: DI6.BE - news) in Anglo have fallen 34 percent in the past 12 months, shrinking its market capitalisation to 10 billion pounds from around 50 billion pounds in 2008.

"We believe we have a remuneration policy that was approved at the 2014 AGM that strikes the right balance between stretch and achievability, designed to support the company's strategic objectives and aligned with shareholders' interests," a spokesman for Anglo said in an emailed statement.

"As an illustration, our chief executive's total remuneration decreased by 17 percent in 2015, his salary has been frozen and his bonus decreased by around 40 percent," the spokesman added.

The investor meeting is due to be held on April 21. ($1 = 0.7075 pounds) (Reporting By Sinead Cruise; Editing by Simon Jessop and Susan Fenton)