Ho Chi Minh City: Breakthroughs in digital infrastructure, creating a regional-level international financial center.

Ho Chi Minh City will make breakthroughs in digital infrastructure, attracting billions of USD in investment in mega-scale data centers and digital assets, determined to become a smart city and a regional-level international financial center.

Delegates attending the Conference.

On the afternoon of February 8th, in Ho Chi Minh City, the Vietnam International Finance Corporation (VIFC-HCM), in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Science and Technology, organized a conference to promote investment in digital technology infrastructure and large data centers. This event marks a strategic step in concretizing Resolution No. 57-NQ/TW of the Politburo , aiming to transform the city into a smart city and a leading modern financial center in the region.

The conference was attended by leaders of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, representatives of central ministries and agencies, and a large number of leading domestic and international technology corporations and financial organizations.

In his opening remarks at the conference, Mr. Lam Dinh Thang, Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, emphasized that the city is entering a new phase of development, where digital infrastructure is identified as a strategic infrastructure on par with transportation and energy.

“The development of hyperscale data centers, artificial intelligence (AI), and cloud computing not only promotes digital transformation but is also a key condition for building smart cities and international financial centers. We are committed to perfecting specific policy mechanisms to enhance Ho Chi Minh City's technological standing in the region,” Mr. Thang affirmed.

Mr. Lam Dinh Thang, Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, delivered the opening remarks at the conference.

By 2025, Ho Chi Minh City had achieved impressive milestones: 5G coverage reached 70% of its area; a smart traffic management system with over 1,000 AI cameras was operational; and 100% of public hospitals had implemented electronic medical records. Notably, the pilot Digital Twin model significantly reduced lighting energy consumption, demonstrating the effectiveness of modern urban governance.

The highlight of the conference was the development strategy for the Ho Chi Minh City International Finance Center (VIFC-HCM). According to Mr. Pham Tuan Anh, Head of Technology at VIFC-HCM, the center will act as a transit hub, connecting FDI flows and especially indirect investment (FII) flows into Vietnam and the global market.

VIFC-HCM's technology infrastructure will be invested in a comprehensive manner with international standards: In terms of physical infrastructure, the data center will meet Tier III/IV standards, with high-speed broadband connectivity; in terms of management technology, a proactive RegTech and SupTech system will be deployed to monitor and prevent money laundering and terrorist financing, ensuring national monetary security.

A view of the conference.

Regarding breakthroughs in trading, we will apply Blockchain technology as a reconciliation layer to build a T+0 clearing system and develop a SuperApp integrated with a single e-wallet, helping investors quickly transfer capital between exchanges.

At the conference, in the presence of city leaders, numerous strategic cooperation agreements (MOUs) worth billions of USD were signed, affirming the attractiveness of the investment environment in Ho Chi Minh City.

Specifically, G42 Group and a consortium of domestic investors are collaborating to develop a large-scale data center infrastructure with a projected total investment of $2 billion; the Department of Science and Technology and VinaCapital (FPT - VinaCapital - Viet Thai Alliance) are cooperating to develop a technology innovation complex linked to a super-scale data center; and VIFC-HCM and the Global On-Chain Economic Alliance are collaborating to research and operate the "HCMC Digital Asset Fund" with the goal of raising $1 billion, creating capital to build a regional-scale on-chain market.

Leaders of Ho Chi Minh City witnessed the signing ceremony of a cooperation agreement between the Department of Science and Technology and its partners.

Between 2026 and 2030, Ho Chi Minh City aims to be among the top 50 smartest cities in the world. To achieve this, the city is implementing mega-projects of AI data centers with a capacity of over 100MW, while also replanning 12 concentrated digital technology zones and expanding the High-Tech Park.

City leaders affirmed that they will continue to maximize administrative procedure reforms, establish inter-agency task forces directly led by department directors to support strategic investors. The city will not only prioritize infrastructure but also focus on training high-quality human resources and piloting policy "sandbox" models for new technologies such as UAVs and autonomous vehicles.

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/khoa-hoc-cong-nghe/tp-ho-chi-minh-dot-pha-ha-tang-so-kien-tao-trung-tam-tai-chinh-quoc-te-tam-co-khu-vuc-20260208210444412.htm