VietNamNet Bridge – The monthly salaries of managers at state-owned enterprises (SOEs) are much higher than other state civil servants. However, the salaries are small compared to the huge amount of assets and power they wield.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT) has released a report on the salaries of 120 chairs of boards of managements and CEOs of 11 state-owned key economic groups and general corporations under the ministry’s control, which shows that the average income is VND40-50 million a month.

The best paid was chair and CEO of the Vietnam Vegetable Oil Industry Corporation who received VND74.72 million.

The second best paid was Phung Dinh Thuc, chair of the Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam), who received VND65.81 million.

Meanwhile, Hoang Quoc Vuong, chair of the Electricity of Vietnam (EVN), got VND61.32 million. Chair of the Vietnam Petroleum Import & Export Corporation Bui Ngoc Bao earned VND54 million. Chair of the Vietnam Coal and Minerals Group (Vinacomin) pocketed VND53.42 million.

The chairs of the chemicals group (Vinachem) and textile & garment group (Vinatex) also earned over VND50 million a month.

Under Decrees No 50 and 51, the highest pay the chair of board of directors of an SOE can receive is VND36 million a month, or VND432 million a year. In case the enterprises perform well, their heads will get extra incomes, but the extra incomes must not be higher than 1.5 times of the above said salaries.

The salary paid to SOEs’ managers is always the hot topic at all workers’ discussions, especially in recent years, when their salaries have been made public.

The officers at state agencies are always envious of the salaries the CEOs of SOEs can receive from the same boss – the State. Managers of SOEs are also “civil servants”, but they earn tens times higher than state agencies’ officers.

However, economists pointed out that though the incomes of SOEs’ CEOs are higher than other civil servants, they are not high enough to correspond to the high power given to them and the huge state’s assets they must manage.

Their power is so immense that the former President of Vinashin (the Vietnam Shipbuilding Industry Group), which is now deep in debt, could easily contribute $3 billion to a steel project in Ha Tinh province and then withdraw the capital.

National Assembly’s deputies have voiced their concerns about the abuse of power committed by the chairs of some economic groups. In some cases, they made investment decisions on projects capitalized up to VND50 trillion.

Under current laws, even the government has to ask for the National Assembly’s permission to approve investment projects with capital of VND20 trillion and higher.

TBKTSG