Prime Minister and 500 domestic and foreign CEOs discuss sustainable cooperation

Thủ tướng - Ảnh 1. — Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh attended CEO 500 - Tea Connect on the afternoon of November 25 - Photo: THANH HIEP

Taking place on the afternoon of November 25, the CEO 500 - Tea Connect dialogue session lasted nearly 2 hours, becoming an open forum for the business community.

International megacities in the digital age

With the theme "Ho Chi Minh City: Towards an international megacity in the digital age", the program was chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang and Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Nguyen Van Duoc.

In his orientation speech, Secretary of the City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang said that after the merger, Ho Chi Minh City is entering a new development phase with a broader vision and greater aspirations. It aspires to become a modern, dynamic, livable, and globally competitive megacity of international stature.

However, Mr. Quang believes that the stature of Ho Chi Minh City as an international megacity does not only come from its population size or economic contribution. It also depends on the quality of growth, the level of connectivity, governance capacity, international competitiveness and the ability to create a creative and classy living and working environment.

Thủ tướng - Ảnh 2. — Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang delivered the opening speech at the CEO 500 - Tea Connect program - Photo: THANH HIEP

Therefore, Ho Chi Minh City is restructuring its development space, typically with a new development strategy of multipolar, integrated, and connected thinking, forming three regions, three corridors, five pillars, and one special zone.

Secretary of the City Party Committee Tran Luu Quang especially emphasized the 5 pillars of strategic development of Ho Chi Minh City. The first is high-tech industry and innovation (AI digital technology, big data semiconductors are the driving force throughout).

The second is logistics and free trade (linked with seaports and airports in free trade zones). The third is developing an international financial center. The fourth is tourism and cultural industry (creating added value from culture, creativity, art, entertainment and international events).

And finally, medical education, science and technology.

Previously, informing the business community and international investors, Mr. Truong Minh Huy Vu - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies - said that the new development picture of Ho Chi Minh City is opening up with three key growth poles.

In particular, Binh Duong, which used to be considered a traditional, labor-intensive industrial area, has now strongly shifted to green industrial park models, precision mechanics and high technology, attracting many foreign investors with high production standards.

Similarly, Ba Ria - Vung Tau is identified as the center of marine economy, energy and shipping of the entire Southeast region. With the Cai Mep - Thi Vai seaport system and Con Dao special economic zone, this area will play an important role as a logistics gateway, closely linked to national energy strategies.

Thủ tướng cùng 500 CEO trong và ngoài nước bàn về hợp tác bền vững - Ảnh 3. — The program devoted time for delegates to discuss cooperation initiatives for Ho Chi Minh City in building an international megacity in the digital age - Photo: THANH HIEP

The old Ho Chi Minh City area will play the role of a service, administrative and financial center, and is implementing an international financial zone of more than 900 hectares in the Ben Thanh - Saigon - Thu Thiem area according to Resolution 22 of the National Assembly.

At the dialogue, Mr. Pham Thai Lai, General Director of Siemens ASEAN and Vietnam, recognized that Ho Chi Minh City's aspiration to become a leading international city is completely in line with Siemens' mission. The company sees huge potential for cooperation, especially in applying high-tech solutions to promote digital transformation, increase adaptability and sustainable development for the city.

Mr. Lai said he envisioned this through building a “digital backbone” for urban and industrial infrastructure.

With its strategy to promote green transformation, Mr. Lai said that every day, Siemens technology helps reduce more than 300,000 tons of CO ₂ . The company can significantly improve energy efficiency in industry and buildings, seamlessly integrate renewable energy sources and build sustainable smart grids.

This not only helps reduce the city's carbon footprint, but also ensures a stable and sustainable energy source for a rapidly growing economy.

“Siemens sees an opportunity to work together to create an innovative, world-class, future-ready city. Together, we can accelerate economic growth and improve the quality of life for its citizens,” said Lai. “Together, we can build a future where technology serves people, contributing to the vision of Vietnam becoming a developed, high-income country with an independent and modern economy by 2045.”

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh: Frankly accepting recommendations on the IFC model

In parallel with the CEO 500 - Tea Connect program, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a meeting with international financial institutions and investors.

The Prime Minister said the Government and Ho Chi Minh City wish to frankly receive recommendations from businesses and investors on the International Financial Center (IFC) model.

"We want to hear what you think about Vietnam, about Ho Chi Minh City, what you expect when joining IFC and especially your comments on institutions, infrastructure, and governance environment so that this center can operate according to international standards," said the Prime Minister.

According to the Prime Minister, Vietnam is completing all legal, operational and infrastructure conditions for IFC Ho Chi Minh City to start operations in December 2025. Therefore, comments from the community of financial experts and international investors at this year's forum are "very important and very necessary", contributing to shaping the operational standards and policy framework for a regional financial center.

The Head of Government also pledged that Vietnam will continue to improve the investment environment, legal system, policies, infrastructure and governance to create a favorable investment environment and attract investment capital.

This includes building transparent legal institutions, modern infrastructure and smart governance. Vietnam will focus on developing new economic sectors such as digital economy, green economy, circular economy and knowledge economy, instead of relying only on traditional industries.

At the meeting, international partners also affirmed their readiness to cooperate and support Vietnam in its development process, demonstrating a sense of responsibility and determination to overcome challenges together, so that Vietnam can develop sustainably in the coming time.

Technology, green investment, modern urban management...

CEO 500 - Tea Connect is a high-level dialogue space between the Government and Ho Chi Minh City with more than 500 domestic and international business leaders, focusing on public-private partnership models, green investment strategies, technological innovation and modern urban governance.

At the same time, the event opens up great opportunities for Vietnamese enterprises to participate more deeply in regional and global supply chains, access capital flows, technology, knowledge and advanced management models, thereby improving competitiveness and international integration.

The discussion focused on practical issues that businesses are interested in in the context of Ho Chi Minh City repositioning its role as a "dynamic megacity", including: cooperation in digital transformation - green transformation, the need for new digital infrastructure and strategic infrastructure, international financial center and attracting high-quality capital flows, building an innovation ecosystem, developing highly qualified human resources, especially in AI and digital technology, as well as exploiting the potential of public-private partnership (PPP) in strategic projects.