180 of 300 Staff Left: Vietnam Regulator Urges Retention Policies for Securities Talent

Vietnam's Finance Minister told the National Assembly on October 28 that the State Securities Commission once lost 180 of its roughly 300 employees in a single stretch, as securities firms poached regulators with higher salaries. Minister Ngo Van Tuan cited that exodus, concentrated around the boom years of 2010–2012, while urging special retention policies for state securities staff during a plenary debate on the draft law amending the Law on Securities.

The draft law proposes that the State adopt policies to modernize information technology infrastructure for the securities market and to encourage, reward and attract talent to the securities sector. For HR leaders and policymakers, the debate raises a familiar question: how should a public agency compete on pay when private employers in the same industry bid aggressively for the same scarce professionals.

What does the draft law actually change?

Deputy Bui Xuan Hai, rector of Hai Phong University, supported the proposal but flagged a drafting gap. The text states in general terms that "the State shall adopt policies to encourage, reward, develop and attract human resources for the securities sector," without defining what the securities sector encompasses.

That vagueness carries consequences. It could be read to extend incentives to employees of securities companies themselves, which Hai called unreasonable because such businesses are commercial entities competing with one another. He also argued that covering everyone in the sector would be unfair to professionals in other fields that matter equally to socioeconomic development.

Hai urged the drafting committee to build more convincing justifications. If the policies survive, he said, they should be limited to attracting, rewarding and retaining qualified personnel in state agencies that regulate securities and the securities market, not the entire sector's workforce.

Why is infrastructure investment on the agenda?

Deputy Tran Hoang Ngan of Ho Chi Minh City pressed for clarity on the human resource provisions and backed state support for market infrastructure. "I support the State adopting policies to support investment in securities market infrastructure," he said.

Vietnam's securities market began trading officially in July 2000, Ngan noted. Since then it has suffered one or two major system failures that halted trading and forced the market to close, denting investor sentiment, including among foreign investors.

The market now counts more than 14 million individual and institutional trading accounts. Ngan called modern information technology investment essential for continuous, safe and seamless operations, adding that better systems could enable trading without a lunch break, around-the-clock 24/7 sessions and connectivity between markets.

On staffing, Ngan also favored prioritizing state management personnel, especially those operating and monitoring the market and inspecting trading orders. "Collusion, market rigging and manipulation can occur in the securities market, so these positions require highly qualified personnel who can promptly detect manipulative and market-rigging transactions," he said.

Hai added a further proposal: a provision stating that "the State shall adopt appropriate policies and measures to protect investors' legitimate rights and interests in the securities market." He argued that securities laws worldwide serve the fundamental objective of mobilizing medium- and long-term capital for economic development, which requires a transparent and efficient market.

How fierce is the talent war?

Finance Minister Tuan closed the debate with the numbers that frame the retention problem. The market has experienced multiple system failures as operating conditions and scale changed, and while current trading software is relatively stable, he said Vietnam must master the underlying technology to upgrade and repair systems itself, particularly to meet openness and transparency requirements.

A special mechanism already exists for officials and civil servants at the State Securities Commission, he said, because competition for highly qualified personnel between the commission and securities companies and fund management companies is fierce. Qualified professionals in the sector remain scarce.

"When securities companies, fund management companies and investment funds came looking for talent, they were willing to pay high salaries to attract our staff," Tuan said. He recalled that during the boom around 2010–2012, there were years when many commission staff resigned for jobs elsewhere; at the time, the commission had just over 300 employees, yet as many as 180 left.

The National Assembly's consideration of the draft amendments continues, and the final scope of any retention incentives will determine whether public-sector pay mechanisms can narrow the gap with private-market salaries.