Real estate, financial services and insurance CEOs draw fattest paychecks in Vietnam

Average 2023 CEO income in Vietnam was VND2.5 billion ($102) a year, with in 2023, the head honchos in real estate, financial services (mainly securities) and insurance leading the remuneration pack, according to FiinGroup.

Financial information provider FiinGroup recently released a report on the incomes of general directors, chairpersons and independent board members at public companies.

The report analyzed information from 200 public companies listed on Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange, Hanoi Stock Exchange and unlisted public companies market UPCoM which cover 85.6% of market capitalization as of end-2023. This included data from 15 out of 27 banks, nine out of 43 securities companies, three out of 14 insurance companies, and 173 out of 1,563 companies in other sectors (non-financial).

The report noted that the income data did not account for benefits from bonus shares or ESOP shares. Leaders with nominal incomes ($1 a year) or those who do not receive remuneration, salary, or bonuses were not included in the analysis.

Among the top 15 companies with the highest CEO incomes last year, six paid over VND10 billion ($406,260) per year.

The highest reported income was earned by the CEO of Kinh Bac Urban Development Corporation, Nguyen Thi Thu Huong, with VND17 billion ($690,640).

Other top earners included the CEO of Masan Group, Danny Le, with VND14.7 billion ($597,200) and the CEO of Vinhomes, Nguyen Thu Hang, with VND13.9 billion ($564,700).

Three other companies with CEOs earning over VND10 billion ($404,203) were Nam Long with VND12.9 billion ($521,423), Vingroup with VND11.1 billion ($448,666), and Vincom Retail with VND10.3 billion ($406,260).

Board chairperson incomes

The average income for chairpersons of the 2023 was VND1.7 billion ($69,060). Banks and financial services (especially securities companies) recorded the highest average incomes for this role.

In contrast, sectors like information technology and retail, despite high return on equity (ROE), had relatively low average incomes for chairpersons.

Companies with state capital (owning between 25% and less than 51% of total equity) boasted the highest ROE, but the average income of their chairpersons was 16% to 20% lower than the market average.

PNJ with VND8.8 billion ($357,500), Sacombank with VND8.6 billion ($349,380), SSI Securities with VND7 billion ($284,380) and Vinhomes with VND6.4 billion ($260,000) recorded the highest chairperson remunerations.

For independent board members, the average income in 2023 was VND600 million ($24,380) per year, with the highest paymasters being Sacombank with VND3.5 billion ($142,190), PNJ with VND3.2 billion ($130,000), and Vinamilk with VND2 billion ($81,250).