This is one of the outstanding events within the framework of the Ho Chi Minh City Week of Innovation, Science , Technology and Creative Startups (WISE HCMC+ 2025).
Attending the conference were comrade Duong Anh Duc, member of the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, Head of the Propaganda and Mass Mobilization Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee; Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology Lam Dinh Thang, representatives of the city's departments and branches, along with financial experts, representatives of multinational corporations and hundreds of enterprises in the fields of science, high technology and innovation.
Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City Lam Dinh Thang speaks at the conference. Photo: QUANG HUY
4 problems needing solutions
Speaking at the conference, Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City Lam Dinh Thang emphasized the pioneering role of Ho Chi Minh City in the national startup ecosystem. Currently, the city attracts nearly 50% of the total number of startups in the country and is home to 3 out of 4 technology unicorns in Vietnam. The city's innovative startup ecosystem (KNST) holds the 110th position globally in 2025 according to Startup Blink's report. The city aims to develop breakthroughs and reach international standards by creating NextGen, an intergenerational ecosystem that combines the creativity of young people with the experience of experts. This synergy will help master technology, create new sustainable, humane and inclusive values, ensuring that no one is left behind in the development process.
The Director of the Department of Science and Technology hopes that experts will discuss and propose breakthrough initiatives for four issues: First, the model for creating a future generation ecosystem. How can Ho Chi Minh City effectively transform from an economic model based on processing to a model focusing on developing intellectual property (IP) and creative research economy, while at the same time building a policy strong enough to attract and retain talented NextGen human resources in the era of global competition.
The second issue is the digital asset breakthrough for the International Finance Center (IFC). In the context of IFC development in the period 2026-2030, what management, supervision and legal framework are needed to make Digital Assets a breakthrough factor to help IFC HCMC overcome the "gray area" and achieve a global position in transparency and sustainability.
The third issue is establishing a Fintech Superhighway. Policy steps, technological platforms and intergovernmental cooperation (especially between Vietnam and Singapore) are needed to build a real “Fintech Superhighway”, facilitating not only capital but also cross-border flows of technology and innovation.
The fourth issue is governance and capital for IFC. To build the three core pillars of IFC HCMC (governance, capital and banking cooperation), how to optimize capital operations from venture capital funds and strengthen risk management in the field of financial technology.
Comrade Lam Dinh Thang believes that the profound contributions from international experts will be an important basis for Ho Chi Minh City to perfect its policies, opening up new cooperation opportunities to help the city play a strategic driving role, aiming to become an "international megacity" of Southeast Asia - a smart, green, and creative city.
Ms. Jade Koh presents her paper. Photo: QUANG HUY
Building a dynamic startup ecosystem
Presenting a speech at the conference, Ms. Jade Koh, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), affirmed that Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular are facing the opportunity to develop a strong digital economy. It is expected that Southeast Asian member countries will sign a digital economy framework agreement by 2026, with the potential for the region's digital economy to grow to 2,000 billion USD by 2030.
Sharing Singapore's experience in the innovation ecosystem, Ms. Jade Koh emphasized that Singapore has successfully built an innovation ecosystem by boldly shifting to an economic model based on technology and knowledge services, instead of depending on labor and skills. The country invests heavily in R&D (research and development) with 1% of GDP for innovation research, while building a force of technology experts to promote the digital economy. In addition, Singapore also initiated the Singapore - Vietnam Innovation Talent Exchange Program to support the training of high-quality human resources.
"HCMC needs to invest resources in research, because R&D and innovation are important factors in economic development," Ms. Jade Koh suggested.
Expert Daniel Theobald presents a paper at the conference. Photo: QUANG HUY
On the other hand, expert Daniel Theobald, founder and CEO of Vecna Robotics (USA), thanked HCMC for creating a timely discussion forum on the topic "Technological breakthroughs and innovation - Creating the future generation for HCMC". This expert believes that the American startup model is suitable for HCMC to study, but needs to be adjusted to suit the actual context.
The city needs to focus on principles such as promoting creative thinking and innovation, developing high-quality human resources, building a favorable business environment, investing in R&D and leveraging technology to transform from processing to intellectual property. Encourage entrepreneurship but focus on building a dynamic startup ecosystem, while creating practical support policies and promoting international links. Next is building an effective bridge between universities and businesses to create human resources and technology products to serve market needs.
MSc. Nguyen Truc Van, Director of the Center for Socio-Economic Simulation and Forecasting (second from left). Photo: QUANG HUY
At the conference, many experts emphasized that Ho Chi Minh City needs to have stronger breakthrough policies to attract international investment for the startup ecosystem. Attracting resources is a prerequisite to succeed in the goal of breakthrough development, reaching international standards by creating the next generation.
Source: https://mst.gov.vn/tphcm-kien-tao-he-sinh-thai-khoi-nghiep-sang-tao-nang-dong-197251130214339623.htm
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