The salary of Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung is roughly VND17 million a month (US$805), the Government Office announced at a press conference held yesterday afternoon.

When asked about the Prime Minister’s salary, government spokesman Vu Duc Dam, who holds the ministerial rank and heads the Government Office, told the press “I don’t remember exactly. But the salaries of leaders of the Party and State are calculated based on coefficients, with the highest possible coefficient of 14. With the Prime Minister’s salary having a coefficient of under 14, the Prime Minister has a total monthly salary of under VND15 million”.

In state organizations, an official has a certain salary coefficient which rises together with his/her rank. The total salary of this official is calculated by multiplying his/her basic salary by his/her coefficient, plus allowances and bonus.

At the end of the press conference, deputy head of the Government Office’s general department Nguyen Kinh Quoc officially announced that the salary coefficient of the Prime Minister is 12.5, his allowance coefficient is 3.13 and basic salary is VND1,150,000, plus state bonuses.

Mr. Quoc then confirmed that that the Prime Minister’s total salary, including state allowances and bonuses, is roughly VND17 million (US$805) a month (after paying social insurance and health insurance premiums).

State CEO earns $10,250 a month

The media asked the Government Office about the Prime Minister’s salary after a recent scandal in which several CEOs of state companies were discovered receiving huge salaries.

In one particular case, the director of the state-owned Urban Drainage Company Limited in Ho Chi Minh City received a yearly salary of VND2.6 billion (US$123,600), or $10,250 per month (41 times higher than the income of a low-level worker at this company). This is also 12.7 times higher than the Prime Minister’s salary.

The chief accountant of that company earned VND1.67 billion per year.

At the state-owned Public Lighting Company Limited, also in Ho Chi Minh City, the yearly salary of its director was VND2.2 billion, and that of the chief account was VND1.7 billion.

Both directors maintained that their huge salaries are based on the profits the companies made and on their contributions, but promised they would comply with the city government’s order and pay back part of their wages to the state fund.

Also at the press conference, government spokesman Vu Duc Dam stressed that, according to current regulations, the salaries of heads of state enterprises must not be more than VND36 million (US$1,705) a month. This figure can be increased by no more than 50% in case the companies earn strong profits. According to official statistics from the Vietnamese Ministry of Labor, War Invalids and Social Affairs, the average monthly salary in Vietnam in 2011 was VND3.8 million (US$185).