The Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has submitted a draft resolution to the 11th municipal People’s Council outlining salary scales, compensation packages, and performance bonuses for key personnel at the executive agency of the Vietnam International Financial Center (IFC) in Ho Chi Minh City.
Notably, the municipal government is proposing a market-based pay framework, featuring a CEO salary range of VND450 million to VND850 million (over US$17,000 to more than US$32,500) per month.
Under the draft resolution, the proposed salary framework for standard positions at the executive agency includes the chairman from VND140 million to VND200 million VND per month; the vice chairman from VND100 million to VND170 million VND ($4,000 to $6,800); department heads and equivalents from 70 million to 140 million; deputy department heads from VND50 million to VND90 million; and senior specialists from VND30 million to VND60 million.
For executive management and specialist roles under a specialized mechanism, proposed monthly salaries are set as follows: Chief Executive Officer (CEO) from VND450 million to VND850 million; Chief Operating Officer (COO) from VND200 million to VND400 million; Chief Communications and Market Development Officer (CCO) from VND100 million to VND180 million; and advisors to the Chairman and Vice Chairman from VND70 million to VND300 million. Support personnel, including receptionists, drivers, and security guards, are earmarked for monthly wages between VND15 million and VND20 million.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, establishing a market-based pay structure is essential to attracting high-caliber talent with specialized expertise, language proficiency, international experience, and profound insights into global finance. As a specialized administrative body, the executive agency directly manages, licenses, and oversees financial investment and trading operations within the International Financial Center, while taking on unprecedented and complex tasks in Vietnam.
Currently, compensation for officials, civil servants, public employees, and staff at the agency remains bound by existing civil service pay scales, where the maximum projected average monthly salary is just around VND11.6 million. Officials warn that the pay scale is uncompetitive for drawing top-tier international financial talent, even as non-civil servants account for roughly 88 percent of the agency's workforce.
Compounding the issue, the executive agency has been advancing payroll funds from its regular operating budget since February 2026. City officials estimate these operating reserves will only suffice for approximately two more months.
If regulations on specialized salary and allowance schemes are not issued in time, roughly 88 percent of personnel face the risk of not receiving their lawful salaries and benefits, potentially triggering resignations and threatening the operations of the executive agency, the submission noted.
For concurrent appointments, if the chairman or vice chairmen of the executive agency hold dual roles, they will receive an additional allowance equal to 50 percent of the position-based salary established for the executive agency, on top of their existing salaries at their primary organizations.
Cadres, civil servants, and public employees seconded to work at the agency will likewise receive a supplemental allowance equal to 50 percent of the position-based salary defined in the pay scale.
The Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee estimates the total annual budget required to implement the compensation scheme under the draft resolution at approximately VND99.65 billion (US$3.8 million).
Funding for salaries, benefits, and performance bonuses will initially be allocated from the Ho Chi Minh City budget in accordance with statutory budget decentralization rules.
Should the executive agency generate lawful revenue streams in the future, funding will be balanced through a combination of the agency's own legitimate revenues and the municipal budget.
