Decree 92 Explained: How the VIFC Executive Council Staffs, Pays, and Recruits

Decree 92/2026/ND-CP, which took effect on 31 March 2026, answers a question that Decree 323 left open: how does the VIFC Executive Council actually staff itself, pay its people, and compete for talent? The decree establishes compensation tiers, grants the Chairman substantial hiring autonomy, and creates a three-layer governance structure that separates political leadership from operational execution and expert advice. For international firms watching the VIFC take shape, this is where institutional capacity either materialises or stalls.

The three-tier structure#

Decree 92 applies to three distinct bodies, each with its own staffing logic:

The Executive Council is the decision-making body, chaired by Standing Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh. Members include Vice-Chairmen and appointed officials who serve part-time alongside their existing government roles. This is the strategic layer — it sets direction, not day-to-day operations.

The Support Office (cơ quan giúp việc) is the permanent secretariat. It is staffed by civil servants seconded from other agencies and by specialists recruited directly. This is where the operational work happens: drafting regulations, coordinating with VIFC member firms, and managing the centre's administrative machinery.

The Advisory Council (Hội đồng tư vấn) comprises domestic and international experts in finance and law, engaged on labour contracts. This is the knowledge layer — and, as discussed below, the one with the most competitive compensation framework.

The structure mirrors the model used by the DIFC Authority in Dubai, which similarly separates its governing board, executive management, and expert advisory panels. Whether Vietnam's version achieves the same operational independence depends on how the Chairman exercises the considerable discretion Decree 92 grants.

Compensation: three tiers, three realities#

Executive Council members#

Part-time members receive a monthly allowance equal to 50% of their current salary. This supplement is excluded from social and health insurance calculation bases — standard practice for supplementary official allowances in Vietnam. Since members retain their primary government positions, this is effectively a stipend for additional responsibilities rather than a standalone compensation package.

The full-time Chairman retains his existing salary and receives an additional 80% monthly supplement. He is also entitled to bonuses, housing, transportation, healthcare, and working conditions equivalent to senior science-and-technology leadership positions, as governed by Decree 231/2025/ND-CP. Full-time members receive compensation equivalent to the head of the Support Office.

Support Office staff#

Civil servants seconded to the Support Office retain their existing rank, salary, and allowances, with service time counting continuously for statutory benefits. On top of this, they receive an 80% monthly supplement.

Personnel designated as exceptional talent under Decree 179/2024/ND-CP can receive up to a 150% supplement — bringing total compensation to roughly 2.5 times base salary.

Advisory Council experts#

This is where the compensation framework shifts from civil-service logic to market logic. Advisory Council experts are engaged under labour contracts with negotiated, market-rate compensation. The Chairman has unilateral authority to conclude these contracts and set terms based on capacity, experience, and task performance. No statutory cap is specified.

The compensation gap nobody should ignore#

The 150% supplement for exceptional Support Office talent sounds substantial in percentage terms. In absolute terms, it is modest. Vietnamese civil-service base salaries are low by regional standards. A senior specialist at Grade 3 earns approximately VND 15–20 million per month base under the reformed pay scale. A 150% supplement brings total compensation to approximately VND 37–50 million — roughly $1,500–2,000 per month.

A mid-career compliance officer or financial regulatory specialist in Singapore or Hong Kong commands multiples of that figure. Even GIFT City in Gujarat, which operates within India's own constrained public-sector pay scales, supplements its regulatory staff through the IFSCA's independent compensation framework.

This means the Advisory Council's uncapped contracting mechanism is likely the more meaningful talent-attraction tool. A former senior regulator from the Monetary Authority of Singapore or a partner at an international law firm will not relocate for a 150% supplement on a Vietnamese civil-service base. They might, however, accept a market-rate advisory contract — and Decree 92 explicitly empowers the Chairman to offer one.

The practical effect is a two-track system: operational staff on civil-service scales with meaningful but bounded supplements, and advisory experts on uncapped contracts. Whether this produces a functioning institution depends on how much substantive work flows through the advisory track versus the operational one.

What the Chairman can actually do#

Decree 92 grants the Executive Council Chairman personnel discretion that is unusual by Vietnamese administrative standards:

• Recruit and deploy Support Office staff independently of standard civil-service assignment processes
• Set staffing levels without prior ministerial approval
• Negotiate and sign labour contracts with international experts at market rates
• Approve training including domestic and international conferences, certifications, and programs of up to one year
• Guarantee career protection — staff who complete assignments satisfactorily receive equivalent or higher positions upon return to their home agencies; those rated "exemplary" may be considered for advanced leadership roles with possible exception to standard qualification requirements

This last provision matters. One of the persistent obstacles to staffing temporary government bodies in Vietnam is the career risk: officials fear that a lateral move to a new entity will stall their promotion trajectory. Decree 92 addresses this directly by guaranteeing that good performance in the Support Office enhances rather than interrupts career progression.

Funding: state budget plus an open question#

Decree 92 specifies two funding sources: the state budget, allocated through the Government Office's budget line, and "other lawful revenue streams." The decree does not define what the second category includes.

This is worth watching. The phrasing creates legal space for the Executive Council to develop non-appropriated income — potentially from licensing fees, service charges, or other mechanisms. Whether and how this authority is exercised will signal how much operational independence the Council seeks from annual budget cycles.

What Decree 92 does not cover#

It is important to distinguish internal governance from external regulatory authority. Decree 92 addresses how the Executive Council organises itself. It does not address how the Council regulates VIFC member firms — that authority flows from Decree 323 and sector-specific instruments like Decree 329 and Circular 72 for banking and foreign exchange, or Decree 330 for commodity exchanges.

Separately, city-level advisory councils — such as the approximately 17-member Da Nang VIFC Advisory Council chaired by Dr. Tran Dinh Thien with Richard McClellan as vice-chair — were established by local People's Committee decisions, not by Decree 92. The relationship between these city-level bodies and the national Advisory Council that Decree 92 contemplates has not been formally clarified.

What to watch next#

The decree is in force, but three questions will determine whether it produces an institution capable of standing alongside its regional peers:

1. How aggressively does the Chairman use the advisory contracting authority? The first wave of Advisory Council appointments — their seniority, international profile, and compensation terms — will signal whether the uncapped mechanism is being used to genuine competitive effect or treated as a formality.

2. Does the "other lawful revenue" clause get activated? If the Executive Council remains wholly dependent on state budget appropriations, its operational independence will be structurally limited regardless of what the decree permits on paper.

3. Can the career-protection guarantee actually hold? Vietnamese officials will watch the first cohort of Support Office secondees closely. If returnees are placed well, the pipeline opens. If they are parked, it closes — and no supplement percentage will compensate for a stalled career.

Decree 92 gives the VIFC Executive Council the tools to build a credible institutional apparatus. Whether those tools are used at the scale the centre's ambitions require is the question that the next twelve months will answer.

This article reflects Decree 92/2026/ND-CP as published. We will update it as the Executive Council's staffing and Advisory Council appointments are announced.