On the afternoon of January 16th, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Head of the Steering Committee for the International Finance Centre in Vietnam (the Steering Committee), chaired the first meeting of the Steering Committee. The meeting was attended by leaders of central ministries and agencies, as well as leaders of Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang City.
Get it operational urgently.
At the meeting, the Steering Committee reviewed the implementation of the Politburo 's conclusions and directives on the International Finance Center; and the plan for continuing the construction, operation, and development of the International Finance Center in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang.
Concluding the meeting, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasized the need to prioritize institutional reform as a breakthrough, considering it the core competitive advantage. "Vietnam may be a latecomer, but we must selectively inherit the best practices from around the world. Our institutions must be superior, distinctive, and in line with international practices; at the same time, they must be suitable for Vietnam's conditions, ensuring sovereignty , financial security, and data safety," the Prime Minister instructed.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh presides over the meeting. Photo: NHAT BAC
According to government leaders, to have an international financial center, it is first necessary to have a team of professional administrators, managers, experts, and personnel who are dedicated, ethical, talented, capable, and passionate about contributing, possessing professional ethics and discipline, including recruiting and training personnel and attracting international experts.
The Prime Minister also emphasized the importance of infrastructure in the International Financial Center, as it is the foundation. According to the Prime Minister, infrastructure is not just transportation, electricity, and water; it includes digital infrastructure, data, cybersecurity, data centers, trading platforms, identification, authentication, and information sharing and interconnection. At the same time, he stressed the importance of developing products and markets to create value for the economy and contribute to growth.
The Prime Minister noted the need for clear and complementary roles between Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, avoiding internal competition, overlap, and fragmentation. "The central government will unify the direction; the localities will proactively implement; and there will be close coordination, data sharing, resource sharing, and sharing of experiences and lessons learned," the Prime Minister emphasized.
The Prime Minister requested the urgent drafting and submission to the Government of a Decree on the specific mechanisms and policies for the operation of the International Finance Center's Executive Council; the development and promulgation of the Center's operating regulations and the working regulations of the International Finance Center's Executive Council. Simultaneously, recruitment of personnel and the arrangement of the Executive Council's headquarters should be completed. Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang City were tasked with coordinating the connection of operational technology infrastructure, ensuring that data is "accurate, complete, clean, active, unified, and for shared use."
Opportunities to attract green capital.
On the same day, at the workshop "Promoting Green Finance and Carbon Credit Exchange in the International Financial Center" organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies (HIDS) and the Vietnam International Finance Center in Ho Chi Minh City (VIFC-HCMC), Mr. Pham Binh An, Deputy Director of HIDS, stated that Ho Chi Minh City is aiming to become a megacity - seaport - international industrial - service - financial center; and to lead the region in green economy and low emissions by 2050.
Specifically during the green transformation phase, according to the Ho Chi Minh City Green Transformation Project for the period 2025-2035, the capital requirement for this process is approximately 900,000 billion VND, including investment in key programs and projects under the 10 pillars of green transformation; expenditure on digital infrastructure, data management, training, and community communication… Among these, VIFC-HCMC, currently being promoted, will be a channel for attracting capital for Ho Chi Minh City's green transformation process.
Mr. Shehryar Ali Shah, Head of the International Finance Corporation (IFC) office in Ho Chi Minh City, also emphasized that green finance will be a focus of the Vietnam International Finance Centre in the future. He cited the World Bank Group's Climate and National Development Report, which shows that Vietnam needs an additional US$368 billion in climate-related investments from now until 2040, equivalent to 6.8% of GDP per year. "Public resources cannot meet this need. Therefore, Vietnam will need to mobilize large-scale private capital – both domestic and international – where green finance plays a crucial role," said Mr. Shehryar Ali Shah.
To achieve that goal, Mr. Vo Hoang Hai, Deputy General Director of Nam A Bank, proposed the establishment of a Green Finance Community, positioned as a multilateral cooperation platform, accompanying VIFC-HCMC in developing the carbon credit market and carbon exchange in Vietnam. Simultaneously, it would promote initiatives in smart agriculture, climate finance, and sustainable supply chains. The Green Finance Community will implement key product and solution groups, such as green supply chain financing to support businesses participating in sustainable value chains; developing green capital mobilization tools such as green bonds, contributing to the diversification of medium and long-term capital sources…
The deadline is February 9th.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh requested that the International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City be launched no later than February 9th, along with the International Arbitration Center and a specialized court. The government leader urged Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang to implement tasks and projects with the motto "local authorities decide, local authorities act, and local authorities take responsibility," strengthening decentralization and delegation of power coupled with resource allocation, and proactively issuing necessary mechanisms and policies.
Source: https://nld.com.vn/sap-ra-mat-trung-tam-tai-chinh-quoc-te-tai-viet-nam-19626011621091653.htm
Comment (0)