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Southeast Asia · Vietnam

Fractional and interim C-suite leadership in Hanoi

Hanoi is the regulatory capital. The ministries, the State Bank and the agencies that issue sector licences all sit here, so companies in regulated sectors routinely run a dual-city executive structure — commercial leadership in Ho Chi Minh City, regulatory and government-affairs leadership in Hanoi.

A fractional executive in Hanoi is frequently bought for institutional access and licence-pathway navigation as much as for functional expertise. Two full-time C-suite hires across two cities is uneconomic. Two days a week each is not.

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Finance mandates here

Our sister practice SmeCFO has delivered fractional and interim CFO engagements in Vietnam since 2015 and handles finance mandates in this market directly. Every other function goes to an independent specialist firm. How we are paid.

Guidance only in this market

We publish research on Vietnam but do not currently route enquiries here, because the local rules on referral and introduction are unsettled. Everything below is free to use, and you are welcome to write to us — we will point you somewhere useful without taking a fee.

The numbers

Fractional, per monthVND 70m–220m/month (USD 2,700–8,400), typically VND 90m–140m at two days a week.
Full-time, all-inHanoi private-sector commercial packages typically run 10–15% below Ho Chi Minh City, while regulated-sector and state-adjacent roles price at or above it. Working range VND 110m–300m/month base, all-in VND 1.6bn–4.2bn a year, roughly USD 61,000–160,000.
Corporate tax20% standard, 15–17% for qualifying SMEs from tax year 2025. National law, identical to Ho Chi Minh City.
VAT / GST10% standard, reduced to 8% for eligible supplies through December 2026.
Employer on-costsSocial insurance 17.5% employer, health 3%, unemployment 1%, all capped at 20× the reference level — an effective ceiling around VND 10.6m/month.
SeveranceHalf a month per year of service net of unemployment-insurance years, which in practice leaves very little. Identical to Ho Chi Minh City.
Work permitsIdentical national regime to Ho Chi Minh City — the 90-day exemption, offshore company-to-company delivery, or a full permit capped at two years.

What actually governs this in Vietnam

The regimes that change the answer, rather than the ones that sound like they should.

Decree 219/2025 work permits

Same national regime: under 90 days a year requires only an exemption confirmation, and capital contributors of VND 3bn or more are exempt outright.

Foreign contractor tax

5% VAT plus 5% CIT on deemed basis, with no FCT where services are performed and consumed entirely outside Vietnam.

Mandatory Chief Accountant

Every FDI enterprise needs a certified Chief Accountant. The fractional CFO sits above that role.

Ministry proximity

Sector licensing, State Bank approvals and government affairs are transacted in Hanoi, which is why regulated businesses maintain senior presence here regardless of where they sell.

Why companies here buy it

  • The dual-city problem: senior presence is needed in two places and two full-time hires cannot be justified.
  • Northern-belt suppliers to Samsung, Foxconn and LG face multinational audit, ESG and cost-accounting requirements far ahead of internal capability, in defined project bursts.
  • Near-zero statutory severance means the case rests on scarcity and on the sub-90-day exemption, not on exit risk.

How business is done

  • Regulated businesses run dual-city leadership. Hanoi presence is bought for ministry access; Ho Chi Minh City presence is bought for commercial execution.
  • The northern industrial belt around Bac Ninh, Hai Phong and Hung Yen is dominated by manufacturing FDI, so fractional demand here skews to COO, supply chain and quality leadership rather than the CFO and CRO demand of the south.

Market context

  • Same national base: 940,000+ enterprises, private sector around 50% of GDP and 82% of employment.
  • Enterprise formation churns rather than compounds — roughly 300,000 entries against 227,000 exits in 2025.

By role

CFO

Fractional CFO

Cash, controls, reporting and the numbers investors and lenders will actually believe.

COO

Fractional COO

Turning a business that works because people try hard into one that works because it is designed to.

CTO

Fractional CTO

Technical judgment for companies whose product decisions have outgrown their engineering.

CMO

Fractional CMO

Positioning, pricing and demand generation — owned by someone senior enough to say no.

CRO

Fractional CRO

A repeatable commercial engine, rather than a founder who happens to be good at selling.

CISO

Fractional CISO

Security leadership for companies whose customers and regulators have started asking questions they cannot answer.

CHRO

Fractional CHRO

Employment structure, senior hiring and the people risk nobody looks at until it is expensive.

Find a firm in Hanoi

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Sources

Figures are compiled from the sources below and reviewed quarterly. Tax and employment law change; check the position before you rely on it, and take local advice on anything material.

PwC — Vietnam corporate taxesDecree 219/2025 work permit reforms

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