Lesson 2: Ready to enter the era of digital economy, green economy and sustainable development

(Chinhphu.vn) - With courage and a solid foundation, the business community of Ho Chi Minh City is ready to enter a new phase - the period of startups, innovation, digital economy, green economy and sustainable development.

Thanks to the spirit of innovation, daring to think - dare to do, promoting the digital economy, from a small business in 1989, to date, Saigon Co.op has become the leading retail brand in Vietnam with sales of more than 30,000 billion VND/year - Photo: VGP/Le Anh

Pioneering startups and innovation

After a period of strong growth (1991-2000) with an average growth rate of more than double digits thanks to the explosion of FDI capital in industrial production, Ho Chi Minh City entered a new growth phase (2000-2020). Along with continuing to attract FDI investment, the City has seen the "blooming" participation of domestic private enterprises. From 2010 onwards, Ho Chi Minh City enterprises began to enter the digital economy and innovation period; at the same time, the City also encourages the entrepreneurial spirit of young entrepreneurs.

In order to support and promote young entrepreneurs to start their own businesses, in 2010, the Business Startup Support Center (BSSC) was established under the Vietnam Youth Union of Ho Chi Minh City. This is the first center in the country to have a support fund with the aim of helping young people start their own businesses. To date, BSSC has supported more than 17,000 projects and small and medium-sized companies.

The vibrant market and bustling creative startup ecosystem have helped Ho Chi Minh City become the "cradle" that nurtures tens of thousands of business ideas each year. Ho Chi Minh City is also the starting place of many Vietnamese technology "unicorns" such as VNG , MoMo and Sky Mavis... Or The Gioi Di Dong Company Limited has redefined the retail industry in Vietnam, from a small phone store to build a giant retail ecosystem with hundreds of supermarkets nationwide. Phuc Sinh Company brings Vietnamese agricultural products such as coffee, pepper... to the world. Dai Dung Group - a pioneer and leading professional unit in Vietnam and the region providing general contracting services and steel structure products for key national and international projects.

Mr. Phan Minh Thong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Phuc Sinh Joint Stock Company: Ho Chi Minh City is a city that is always moving, innovating every day at an incredible speed - Photo: VGP/Le Anh

Sharing his thoughts about the dynamic city, which has helped Phuc Sinh "take off" and become a large enterprise in the coffee and pepper industry, Mr. Phan Minh Thong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Phuc Sinh Joint Stock Company, said: Ho Chi Minh City is a city that is always moving and innovating every day at an incredible speed. People here have the spirit of daring to think, daring to do, always looking for opportunities, overcoming challenges to rise up. Roads, buildings, and infrastructure are increasingly modern, business models are constantly innovating, creating an energetic economic ecosystem. It is this dynamism that has inspired businesses like Phuc Sinh to constantly innovate, develop, and contribute to the City's rise in the new era.

From a start-up company in 2001 with 60 million VND, Phuc Sinh has now conquered the pepper and coffee market with revenue of hundreds of millions of USD/year. The success of Phuc Sinh has changed the business mindset for the agricultural sector and brought Vietnamese agricultural products to the world.

Mr. Trinh Tien Dung, Chairman of Dai Dung Group, said: Ho Chi Minh City's dynamic business environment has helped Dai Dung, which initially started as a small mechanical workshop (in 1995), gradually expand its production and business activities with foreign partners as well as the domestic market to achieve the success it has today.

Mr. Trinh Tien Dung emphasized: In the current trend, businesses, whether large or small, must think and adapt to daily changes, especially in Ho Chi Minh City, the vibrant economic center of the country. Currently, innovation, digital economic development associated with green economy and circular economy are becoming the main trend and businesses that want to develop sustainably need to grasp and adapt quickly.

It can be said that the explosive growth of private enterprises in the period 2000-2020 with the spirit of innovation has created a transformation that helps Ho Chi Minh City change its growth momentum after 20 years of innovation - from industry to services, innovation and digital economy.

Sharing about the city's development orientation, Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City Lam Dinh Thang said that Ho Chi Minh City has identified science and technology, digital transformation, and innovation as strategies for development in the new period. Since the beginning of 2025, Ho Chi Minh City has issued more than 10 action plans and programs, and organized many thematic seminars to effectively implement Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW.

According to Mr. Thang, one of the ideas being researched by the City is a specialized "one-stop" model for innovative start-ups. Accordingly, any individual or group wishing to establish an innovative start-up in Ho Chi Minh City only needs to go to a single reception point, where there is a specialized officer who acts as a focal point to connect with relevant departments and branches, to handle all procedures.

According to Startup Link's rankings, Ho Chi Minh City is currently ranked 111th out of 1,000 cities with the most dynamic innovative startup ecosystems globally.

The Second Innovation - Attracting High-Quality Capital Flows with the International Financial Center

HUBA Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Hoa said that if the establishment of the first Export Processing Zone in Ho Chi Minh City was likened to the "first innovation" to create a strong driving force for Ho Chi Minh City to attract domestic and foreign capital flows for strong industrial development, then the construction of the International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City this time is likened to the second innovation, creating a new driving force for the City to attract high-quality capital flows, creating a "catalyst" as well as an important support for the City's innovation, green economy, digital economy and startups.

HUBA Chairman Nguyen Ngoc Hoa - Photo: VGP/Le Anh

According to economic experts, in reality, Ho Chi Minh City is already the financial center of the country, although it has not been systematically shaped, most clearly seen through basic factors such as stocks, bonds, loans, insurance, etc. However, at the international level, it will need to transform more strongly to raise its level. According to the Global Financial Centers Index (GFCI) recently announced in March 2025, Ho Chi Minh City ranked 98 out of 119 ranked cities, up 7 places compared to last year.

At the conference to announce the Government's Resolution promulgating an action plan to implement the Politburo's conclusion on building a regional and international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Nguyen Van Nen emphasized: The financial center will be a strong driving force, a place to attract capital at competitive costs to promote innovation, develop high-tech financial products, as well as support businesses and the startup community to develop.

The financial center is not only an economic development project but also an affirmation of Vietnam's position on the financial map. It is a strategic step to connect more deeply with the world's financial flows, attract resources and promote and improve the quality of growth. At the same time, it is also an innovation center, leading the financial technology sector with a green and sustainable economic trend.

The success of the Financial Center depends not only on policies but also on the consensus of businesses, investors and people in the Southern Key Economic Zone and Ho Chi Minh City.

Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Hoa emphasized that the International Finance Center in Ho Chi Minh City will create a new "playground", with much room for businesses to develop.

The International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City will create a new "playground", with plenty of room for businesses to develop.

Accordingly, the financial center helps businesses issue bonds to raise capital. Normally, 30% of capital for production and business investment in other countries comes from banks, while 70% is mobilized by businesses through the capital market, while in our country it is the opposite. "Therefore, with the international financial center, we can solve this problem, thereby solving the capital pressure for banks," Mr. Hoa analyzed.

According to Mr. Hoa, we have the world's leading export commodities such as rice, coffee, pepper, but the transactions are not listed on the exchange, are not transparent and especially there is no opportunity to buy now, pay later, buy later, pay first. With the commodity exchange at the Financial Center, we will form and develop the Ho Chi Minh City Commodity Exchange linked to the agricultural market in the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands, and linked to the market of raw materials for production and industrial processing in the Southeast, connecting with global commodity exchanges and investors.

Le Anh - Minh Thi

( to be continued )

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/bai-2-san-sang-buoc-vao-thoi-ky-kinh-te-so-kinh-te-xanh-va-phat-trien-ben-vung-102250413152553688.htm