Developing an international financial center in Vietnam, but operating in 2 cities

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh chairs the Conference on building a National Assembly Resolution on an international financial center in Vietnam - Photo: VGP/Nguyen Hoang

This morning (May 20), at the Government Headquarters, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh chaired a combined in-person and online conference on building a National Assembly Resolution on an international financial center in Vietnam.

The conference is an important event in the process of building and proposing policy mechanisms for the International Financial Center in Vietnam.

Attending the Conference were leaders of central ministries, leaders of Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang City; members of the Prime Minister's Policy Advisory Council; leaders and representatives of international financial organizations, corporations, enterprises, financial institutions, banks, investors, law firms, auditing and consulting firms with high reputation domestically and internationally.

Important step to create legal corridor for building international financial center

Currently, Vietnam is a bright spot in the international arena in terms of economic development and growth, macroeconomic stability, and investment attraction. In addition, Vietnam is also among the leading markets in the rate of application of future financial technologies, gradually converging the necessary factors to develop a modern financial market, aiming to form an international financial center capable of connecting with financial centers in the region and the world.

In Conclusion No. 47-TB/TW dated November 15, 2024 on the Project to build a regional and international financial center, the Politburo requested agencies to determine high political determination, make great efforts, and take drastic actions in organizing the implementation of this important Project.

In that spirit, the Government issued Resolution No. 259/NQ-CP dated December 31, 2024 on the Action Plan for building a regional and international financial center in Vietnam. In the past time, the Government assigned the Ministry of Finance to preside over and coordinate with relevant ministries, branches and agencies to organize many exchanges and surveys with domestic and international organizations and experts to consult and develop policies for the international financial center, including completing the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on the international financial center in Vietnam.

The National Assembly’s Draft Resolution on the International Financial Center in Vietnam is designed to create a legal framework for developing and implementing specific preferential policies that are superior to the current level in Vietnam and meet the needs of financial institutions, international investors and attract new sources of capital. This process poses many challenges, requiring breakthrough thinking and high determination.

Speaking at the opening of the Conference, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh said that this Conference is the next conference in a series of events that Vietnam has conducted in recent times in implementing the policy of building an international financial center.

Since the development of the Project on the International Financial Center and the drafting of the National Assembly's resolution, more than 10 national and international conferences have been held in Vietnam (Hanoi, Da Nang, Ho Chi Minh City) as well as in European countries with which the Vietnamese Government has relations. These consultation conferences have provided a lot of useful information, helping the Vietnamese Government to develop a relatively complete draft resolution based on the opinions of experts.

As planned, in this 9th Session, the National Assembly will discuss and approve the draft Resolution on the International Financial Center in Vietnam. Today's conference is the final conference to consult with experts to finalize the draft Resolution before submitting the official version to the National Assembly. The approved Resolution will be an important step in creating a legal corridor for the construction of the International Financial Center in Vietnam.

"When the Politburo decided to build a financial center, we brought the content of the issue as well as the drafts to London (UK), Luxembourg, Frankfurt (Germany) for consultation. Experts from these three countries and several other countries attending the workshops all assessed this as a wise decision in the current situation of Vietnam. This is also an important basis for Vietnam to connect with the global economy and a solution to accelerate in the next phase," said the First Deputy Prime Minister.

To build an international financial center, one of the most important conditions is that the legal corridor must meet three requirements. These are: following international standards; being open, superior, attractive enough for investors and controlling risks.

In the above spirit, the First Deputy Prime Minister hopes to receive practical, accurate and effective contributions from delegates attending the Conference so that Vietnamese authorities can supplement and perfect the draft Resolution of the National Assembly on the International Financial Center in Vietnam, ensuring that the draft Resolution is of the best quality for submission to the National Assembly for consideration and decision.

The Permanent Deputy Prime Minister said the orientation and policy will develop an international financial center in Vietnam, but operating in two cities: Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City - Photo: VGP/Nguyen Hoang

The policy of building and forming international financial centers is progressing steadily.

At the Conference, domestic and international delegates discussed and shared common issues in the process of building and developing the International Financial Center; management, operation and supervision mechanisms, and connections between international financial centers of several countries; competitive financial fields and services and recommendations for Vietnam; building an international financial center model in accordance with international practices and Vietnam's conditions; experience in managing and operating financial centers in several countries; training human resources for international financial centers, etc.

Many opinions affirm that the decision to build an international financial center is not simply an economic development policy but a strategic institutional breakthrough for Vietnam. This is the time and opportunity for Vietnam to break through and participate more deeply in the global financial chain. If taking advantage of the right time and going in the right direction, Vietnam's international financial center will become a solid foundation to mobilize high-quality financial resources for national development, contributing to improving state governance capacity, increasing national competitiveness and integrating deeply and effectively with the world financial system.

Regarding the issue of designing an international financial center model for Vietnam, Mr. Richard McClellan, Global Ambassador of Terne Holding, former Director of the Tony Blair Institute, who worked for many years at McKinsey & Company, said that over the past 10 years, he has had the honor of accompanying the Vietnamese Government on its economic development journey and directly witnessed Vietnam's great economic achievements. In particular, in the past 2 years, he has had the opportunity to support the Ministry of Planning and Investment, now the Ministry of Finance, and closely coordinate with the Steering Committee on the International Financial Center, participating in many consulting activities, technical contributions, participating in field surveys as well as high-level working sessions with representatives from the public and private sectors.

Mr. Richard McClellan: The idea of ​​building a world-class international financial center in Vietnam is no longer just a theory - Photo: VGP/Nguyen Hoang

Many contents and perspectives from these discussions have been reflected, absorbed and perfected in the draft Resolutions of the National Assembly. The proposed orientations and goals are very consistent with global trends but at the same time still closely linked to Vietnam's specific development roadmap.

"The idea of ​​building a world-class international financial center in Vietnam is no longer just a theory. It has now become an initiative with strong support at the national level and direct guidance from the Politburo, officially launched in both Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City and is making steady progress towards being submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and approval," said Mr. Richard McClellan.

Referring to the specific issue of building a Financial Center in Da Nang, after analyzing the strengths and unique advantages to develop an international financial center in Da Nang such as advantages in strategic geography, technical infrastructure, human resources and education; space and control ability; Regarding the ability to connect with the Central region, especially analyzing the specialized role and complementarity of the Ho Chi Minh City International Financial Center, Mr. Richard McClellan affirmed: "If Vietnam wants to build an international financial center with a global position, we need to think of the financial center not as a separate geographical area, but as a unified operating system. In that model, Da Nang does not compete with Ho Chi Minh City and vice versa. Vietnam can completely study the construction of 2 centers or 1 international financial center but operating in 2 localities to make good use of the benefits of each locality and the two sides will always complement and support each other to develop together".

Appreciating the efforts of the Government and functional agencies of Vietnam in their determination to develop international financial centers, the Executive Director of the Alliance of International Financial Centers (WAIFC) said that in addition to hard technical infrastructure, Vietnam needs to pay special attention to building software and digital infrastructure to ensure the operation of international financial centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang when these centers come into operation.

At the same time, a particularly important thing that Vietnam also needs to pay close attention to is the need to have a plan for training and preparing a systematic human resource to be ready for the smooth operation of the international financial center as well as ensuring adequate resources for investment in the development of financial centers, avoiding unsynchronized, scattered and fragmented investment.

Citing the experience and operating models of modern international financial centers in some countries, especially in Dubai, Mr. Andreas Baumgartner, CEO and founder of The Metis Institute, recommended that Vietnam could build an international financial center but operate in both Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, saying that this is important in unified management of an international financial center but also ensures the promotion of distinct advantages and independence in operations between the two locations of an international financial center.

Leaders and representatives of international financial organizations, institutions, businesses, investors, partners, etc. affirmed their strong commitment to always support and accompany Vietnam in the process of building, developing and operating the Financial Center through specific cooperation, support and connection activities...

Two cities ensure readiness for international financial center to come into operation

Speaking at the conference, Secretary of the Da Nang Party Committee Nguyen Van Quang said that the content of the international financial center is not a new issue for the international community but is a very new and difficult issue for Vietnam. The difficulty is because the activities are both in line with international practices and international standards, and at the same time, in relation to and in line with Vietnamese law.

As the locality implementing the policy and plan for building an international financial center, the Secretary of the Da Nang Party Committee expressed his gratitude and accepted the opinions of domestic and international delegates at the Conference, saying that all opinions were expressed from different perspectives, but they all agreed that it was necessary to form an international financial center in Vietnam. It could be two separate international financial centers, or one international financial center but operating in two locations.

Secretary of the Da Nang City Party Committee Nguyen Van Quang speaks at the Conference - Photo: VGP/Nhat Bac

According to Secretary of the Da Nang City Party Committee Nguyen Van Quang, two separate international financial centers or one international financial center operating in two separate locations, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City, are both important in diversifying the investment attraction environment for financial institutions and investors; limiting and better controlling risks;...

At the same time, it is said that along with consulting and proposing the development of policy mechanisms, Da Nang has also prepared conditions, ecosystems, and infrastructure, including both hard and soft infrastructure, to be ready to serve the operation of the international financial center.

Similar to Da Nang, Vice Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Dung also affirmed that the City is continuing to review and propose mechanisms and policies that are close to the actual conditions of the locality as well as resolutely directing and preparing technical infrastructure, implementing plans for training human resources to serve the operations of the international financial center when the center is officially decided to come into operation.

International financial center - A strong boost to the economy

Concluding the Conference, Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh expressed his gratitude for the profound and dedicated comments of the delegates attending the Conference; he said that these comments were not only suggestive and suggestive in building and perfecting the system of mechanisms and policies, but also very practical contributions to the operation and development of the international financial center.

Currently, along with perfecting mechanisms and policies, the two cities of Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City are resolutely preparing very synchronous hard and soft infrastructure, along with promoting human resource training; promoting, calling for, and attracting investment... to be ready for the operation of the international financial center as well as ensuring readiness for global connectivity when the international financial center in Vietnam officially comes into operation.

Through their speeches, the delegates all affirmed that the development of an international financial center is a bold decision of Vietnam but very necessary, strategic and groundbreaking. Vietnam is a latecomer but has all the factors and conditions to develop a modern international financial center.

"With an economy deeply integrated into the international community, an open and constantly improving investment and business environment; attractive policies in calling for and attracting investment; great potential in terms of labor resources..., if we can take advantage of the 'golden' time and have an international financial center, this will be a strong boost for the economy, contributing to promoting Vietnam's growth and development; creating a breakthrough and transparent legal framework. The Politburo's decision on the policy of establishing a Financial Center and the Government's plan to implement this policy have received support and high appreciation from experts, consultants, businesses, and domestic and foreign investors...", said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh.

In their speeches, many experts also recommended and mentioned the development of an international financial center in Vietnam, but operating in two cities, Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. The delegates also clearly analyzed the distinct advantages of these two cities, the two cities can complement and support each other in the operation and development of the international financial center.

The First Deputy Prime Minister said that the orientation and policy will be to develop an international financial center in Vietnam, but operating in two cities: Da Nang and Ho Chi Minh City. The Vietnamese Government is committed to building a breakthrough legal corridor to maximize Vietnam's advantages, while complying with international law and international standards; encouraging innovation; ensuring policy mechanisms for the international financial center that are unique, outstanding, and attractive to investors as well as ensuring a balance of interests between the State, investors and people; taking steps that are consistent with Vietnam's management and governance capacity.

In building mechanisms, policies, and legal frameworks for the development of international financial centers, there is a thorough absorption and study of international laws, practices, and standards, but it is not a simple copy, mechanical copy, but a careful selection, suitable to the characteristics and conditions of Vietnam. This is also the content that has been recommended by many delegates at this Conference as well as in previous conferences and seminars.

Regarding legal infrastructure, the Government will first focus on supplementing and perfecting the National Assembly Resolution to submit to the National Assembly for consideration and approval. Based on the National Assembly Resolution, a system of Government decrees will be issued with outstanding, open policies, with many priorities, incentives, and support, especially incentives on tariffs; infrastructure; immigration, residence, labor; ... for investors when participating in the international financial center in Vietnam.

"I would like to sincerely thank the opinions of the delegates at today's Conference. These are very valuable, dedicated and practical opinions on the content of building and developing an international financial center in Vietnam. We would like to fully absorb your comments and recommendations to complete the draft Resolution of the National Assembly. From now until the time the National Assembly considers and approves the draft Resolution, if there are any additional comments on the specific contents of the draft Resolution, we hope you will continue to send them to us," said Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh.

Nguyen Hoang

Source: https://baochinhphu.vn/phat-trien-1-trung-tam-tai-chinh-quoc-te-tai-viet-nam-nhung-hoat-dong-o-2-thanh-pho-102250520133803695.htm