Table:
| Years ended August 31, |  | 2019 |  | 2018 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|  | Options | Weighted average exercise price | Options | Weighted average exercise price |
|  |  | $ |  | $ |
| Outstanding, beginning of the year | 819,393 | 65.27 | 652,385 | 56.61 |
| Granted (1) | 201,525 | 65.62 | 281,350 | 85.08 |
| Exercised (2) | (170,754) | 57.28 | (60,337) | 57.77 |
| Cancelled | (134,550) | 72.43 | (54,005) | 72.28 |
| Outstanding, end of the year | 715,614 | 65.93 | 819,393 | 65.27 |
| Exercisable, end of the year | 264,374 | 55.99 | 277,108 | 49.76 |
Paragraphs:
D) SHARE-BASED PAYMENT PLANS
The Corporation offers an Employee Stock Purchase Plan for the benefit of its employees and those of its subsidiaries and a Stock Option Plan to its executive officers and designated employees. No more than 10% of the outstanding subordinate voting shares are available for issuance under these plans. Furthermore, the Corporation offers an Incentive Share Unit Plan ("ISU Plan") and a Performance Share Unit Plan ("PSU Plan") for executive officers and designated employees, and a Deferred Share Unit Plan ("DSU Plan") for members of the Board of Directors ("Board").
Stock purchase plan The Corporation offers, for the benefit of its employees and those of its subsidiaries, an Employee Stock Purchase Plan, which is accessible to all employees up to a maximum of 7% of their base annual salary and the Corporation contributes 25% of the employee contributions. The subscriptions are made monthly and employee subordinate voting shares are purchased on the stock market.
Stock option plan A total of 3,432,500 subordinate voting shares are reserved for the purpose of the Stock Option Plan. The minimum exercise price at which options are granted is equal to the market value of such shares at the time the option is granted. Options vest equally over a period of five years beginning one year after the day such options are granted and are exercisable over ten years.
Under the Stock Option Plan, the following options were granted by the Corporation and are outstanding at August 31:
(1) For the year ended August 31, 2019, the Corporation granted 97,725 (126,425 in 2018) stock options to Cogeco's executive officers as executive officers of the Corporation. (2) The weighted average share price for options exercised during the year was $92.43 ($83.46 in 2018).
Question:
What is the increase / (decrease) in the Options Outstanding, beginning of the year shares from 2018 to 2019?
Answer: 819393 - 652385 = 167008