Mr. Huynh Ho Dai Nghia - Master of Public Policy, lecturer majoring in International Relations
Opportunity to reap great revenue, nurture culture and develop national brand
Ho Chi Minh City is facing a golden opportunity when three global and regional trends converge, creating a foundation to become the industrial and commercial "Mega Hub" of ASEAN.
Firstly , the global supply chain is reshaping, increasing the need to form many new logistics centers in Southeast Asia. In that context, Ho Chi Minh City needs to upgrade to meet the increasing flow of goods, if it does not want to be left behind in the regional transit chain.
Second , creative content becomes a new “export”, bringing high economic value and soft power.
South Korea is a good example. In 2024, the export value of this sector reached 13.6 billion USD and continued to increase in 2025. Movies, music , video games, fashion... not only bring in large revenues, but also help create a "spillover effect" for tourism, consumer goods and services.
Ho Chi Minh City - the largest cultural and creative center in Vietnam - has the opportunity to turn creative industries into a new export pillar alongside industry and trade.
Third , advanced economies view creative industries as long-term growth engines and invest heavily in this sector.
The UK, for example, is implementing a 10-year strategy to invest £380 million in innovation, cluster development and upskilling the creative workforce. This will nurture culture and the nation’s brand, while also directly creating jobs and economic value.
The "waves" of infrastructure - digitalization - creative industry are simultaneously hitting the southern gateway. If we act decisively, Ho Chi Minh City can completely become the leading creative industry - trade hub in the region, holding the central position of the entire Mekong sub-region and ASEAN. Avoid being late.
Where should Ho Chi Minh City learn from and where is it "different"?
Thousands of audiences participated in the E-concert organized by Tuoi Tre newspaper, bringing together famous artists - Illustration photo: VAN TRUNG
To make a breakthrough, Ho Chi Minh City needs to both learn from successful models around the world and exploit advantages that few cities have.
First , learn from Singapore in terms of discipline, infrastructure and procedures. Singapore holds the number one position globally in logistics efficiency largely due to operating according to the "gold standard" in terms of time, logistics costs, data transparency and superior transit capacity. Ho Chi Minh City needs to emulate this spirit to create a competitive advantage in the region, especially when connecting Long Thanh - Cai Mep - Tan Son Nhat.
Second , learn from Seoul in the mindset of exporting culture. Ho Chi Minh City, with its multi-layered cultural identity and youthful creativity, can completely apply this model to create "creative commerce" on a regional scale, raising the image of Vietnam on the international map.
Third , learn from Shenzhen in industrial innovation. Ho Chi Minh City has a similar foundation structure, creating conditions for "escalating" industrial value.
Fourth , learn from Dubai/DMCC in institutional special zones. For Ho Chi Minh City to build commercial - industrial - creative special zones with a sandbox mechanism for new technology, attracting international technology, logistics and creative corporations.
Above all , the difference of Ho Chi Minh City is its rare comprehensive advantage. In the region and country, the city converges large-scale production workshops (Southeast), a domestic market of more than 100 million people and an international logistics gateway. Not many cities in the world simultaneously possess production - consumer markets - trading infrastructure in such a short distance.
The rich cultural identity of the South is the "fuel" for developing creative commerce, clearly different from Singapore, Seoul, Shenzhen or Dubai.
It is the combination of international lessons and unique local capacity that will shape the path for Ho Chi Minh City to become ASEAN's creative industrial and commercial "Mega Hub" in the next decade.
3 pillars of strategy and solutions
Smart Manufacturing Cluster will be the key pillar for Ho Chi Minh City to break through and shift to a high-value manufacturing center in the fields of electronics, biomedical equipment, semiconductors, automation equipment and new materials.
To realize the goal, the city needs to upgrade new-generation industrial parks (IPs) in the Thu Duc - Di An - Phu My corridor with high-speed data infrastructure, renewable energy, circular waste treatment systems and robot - IoT testing centers.
Launching the "Make in HCMC" program focusing on 5 priority industries including: automation equipment, biomedical equipment, energy equipment, electronic modules and green materials, along with R&D tax incentives and a rapid depreciation mechanism for technology lines.
Build a semiconductor-automation human resource alliance between universities, enterprises and localities, learn from the UK's innovation and technology cluster model, combine public capital with private counterpart to strongly promote applied R&D.
Creative Trade Hub is a new growth engine, turning Ho Chi Minh City into a regional hub for cultural and creative exports. Turning music, film, fashion, design, gaming and visual arts into high-value "commercial goods", leading to tourism, retail and cultural exports.
The focus is on the creation of a Creative Free Trade Zone (CFTZ), where production, distribution and copyright trading processes are optimized for regional and international markets.
To realize this, it is necessary to establish a CFTZ in Thu Thiem - Thu Duc, with a tax-free mechanism for importing creative materials, temporary import - re-export warehouses for props, cameras, performance equipment, and "one-stop" procedures for copyright and customs.
Operate the HCMC Fund for Digital Content & Design (a combination of public-private capital) to sponsor co-production of international films and series, organize music festivals and build "Made in HCMC" fashion and design showrooms. Develop the gaming and eSports ecosystem with accelerator programs for game studios, eSports courses in universities and host regional tournaments.
Logistics - cross-border digital trade is the third pillar, connecting and amplifying the strength of the other two pillars. The goal is to merge the strategic hubs of Long Thanh - Tan Son Nhat - Cai Mep - Thi Vai - ICD into a multimodal logistics axis, integrating digital customs and e-commerce platforms to turn Ho Chi Minh City into a gateway for goods and data for the entire Mekong sub-region.
To take advantage of the opportunity, the city needs to implement digital customs. Develop a cold and fast corridor with the Long Thanh - Cai Mep route for agricultural products and pharmaceuticals, and complete light rail or high-capacity road connections between ICD/Logistics Park centers with ports and airports.
Building a cross-border e-commerce center (collecting orders, declaring taxes, processing tax refunds and returns for small and medium enterprises) to exploit the scale of Vietnamese e-commerce and expand exports through Amazon, Alibaba, and Shopify.
Together "Contribute to the development of industry and trade in Ho Chi Minh City"
Tuoi Tre Newspaper in coordination with the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City opened a forum "Providing advice for developing industry and trade in Ho Chi Minh City".
To listen to ideas and solutions from businesses, researchers and people to build and develop industry and trade for the new Ho Chi Minh City, forming a strong urban area in industry - trade - services, with international competitiveness.
Mr. Bui Ta Hoang Vu - Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City said that he respects and listens to every opinion and suggestion from people and businesses to advise the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City on breakthrough solutions to develop industry - trade - services.
Readers participating in the forum can send information to the editorial office of Tuoi Tre newspaper (60A Hoang Van Thu, Duc Nhuan ward, Ho Chi Minh City) or email: kinhte@tuoitre.com.vn
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/nhung-tru-cot-va-noi-can-hoc-hoi-de-nang-tp-hcm-thanh-mega-hub-dong-nam-a-20250817164132674.htm
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