MLP's Cole received $2.8M in '08

David Cole, who resigned as chairman, president and chief executive of Maui Land & Pineapple Co. at the end of last year, received a total compensation package of $2.8 million in 2008, according to a proxy filing yesterday with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Cole, who is remaining as a director with the company, received a base salary of $550,000 — equal to his base pay of the previous two years — as well as $768,600 in stock awards, $967,213 in option awards, $58,297 in pension and deferred compensation and $481,746 in all other compensation.

MLP lost $79.4 million for the entire year.

Made in Hawaii exhibitors sought

First Hawaiian Bank's 14th annual Made in Hawaii Festival is seeking new exhibitors with locally made products to send in their applications to participate in this year's event.

To apply for a booth, a $200 deposit must be received along with the completed application that will be reviewed for approval. The application deadline is May 1, and limited booth space is available since the festival sells out each year.

Standard booth rates are $565 and corner booth rates are $615. Shared booths are subject to a $200 surcharge, with two exhibitors maximum.

To qualify as being “;Made in Hawaii,”; the product must have at least 51 percent of its wholesale value added in Hawaii via manufacture, assembly, fabrication or production within the state.

For applications, go to http://www.madeinhawaiifestival.com.

Bishop Street fund honored

The Bishop Street Hawaii Municipal Bond Fund has received the 2009 Lipper Fund Award as the best fund over 10 years in its category.

The Lipper Fund Award is given to top-performing funds that excelled in delivering consistently strong risk-adjusted performance, relative to its peers.

Bishop Street Capital Management, a wholly owned subsidiary of First Hawaiian Bank, has more than $2.3 billion in equity and fixed-income investment assets under management.

State industrial vacancy at 3.4%

Hawaii's industrial vacancy inched up to 3.4 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest report from CB Richard Ellis, slightly up from 2.9 percent last quarter.

The average asking base lease rates are at $1.20 per square foot per month, lower than last quarter and a year ago, as the inventory increased to about 1.9 million square feet.

During the economic recession, larger tenants are downsizing while smaller tenants are vacating space to cut overhead costs. Fewer national tenants are also looking for space.

On Oahu, the industrial vacancy increased up to 5 percent this quarter, up from 4.2 percent at the end of 2008.