Ho Chi Minh City in the new term - Part 2: From economic locomotive to regional international financial center

Photo caption — Ho Chi Minh City invests in science and technology to develop digital economy in the new term.

Driving force for sustainable development

According to the latest Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), Ho Chi Minh City has increased by 10 points and climbed up 3 places, surpassing Bangkok for the first time, and is among the 15 financial centres forecast to develop most strongly in the next 2-3 years. This is a favorable opportunity for the City to realize its goal of becoming a regional financial centre, creating a new impetus for economic growth.

The Draft Political Report of the 1st Ho Chi Minh City Party Congress, term 2025 - 2030, has identified that, along with growth model innovation, digital transformation and green transformation, the construction of an International Financial Center (IFC) is one of the breakthrough tasks. The Center will provide a full range of modern financial products and services such as banking, capital, fund management, asset management, and at the same time deploy testing mechanisms (sandboxes) on fintech, digital finance, derivatives and digital assets.

Accordingly, to successfully implement, the City needs to synchronize all three factors: planning, human resources and institutions. Specifically, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Construction needs to urgently review and adjust the planning of the 898-hectare area including part of Ben Thanh ward, Saigon ward and Thu Thiem new urban area, creating the main land fund for the project. Regarding human resources, the City will establish a streamlined Steering Committee advisory team, with the participation of multi-disciplinary experts and invite more international experts.

In particular, the first and most important task is to build a legal framework and a specific mechanism for the financial market, which Ho Chi Minh City has also submitted to the Central Government for consideration in the adjustment of Resolution 98/2023. Only after having a transparent legal framework, in accordance with international practices and a supervisory agency and a specialized court to handle financial disputes, can the financial market be formed and developed.

Mr. Nguyen Van Dung, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, said that there is not much time left to prepare, so it is necessary to synchronously and urgently deploy related tasks. Therefore, departments and branches coordinate closely, in which the Department of Finance takes the lead in researching and hiring a consulting unit with international capacity to participate in the construction and operation of the center; the Department of Construction reviews the planning and adjusts projects in Thu Thiem to call for strategic investors. If we do not start on schedule, we will miss the opportunity when international capital flows are shifting strongly to the Southeast Asian region.

Soon complete the TTTC model

Not only the City leaders, many international experts also made recommendations to improve the financial market model in Ho Chi Minh City. Mr. Richard D. McClellan, Vice Chairman of the Vietnam Financial Market Advisory Council, also proposed that Ho Chi Minh City should apply a tripartite mechanism, including the International Financial Center, the International Court and domestic agencies to protect investors' rights. Accordingly, transparency and consistency in policy are prerequisites to build trust. If the legal and supervision mechanism meets international standards, Ho Chi Minh City can completely become a destination for leading financial corporations.

Mr. Lam Dinh Thang, Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, said that the financial center cannot be successful without a scientific and technological foundation. The city needs to develop big data platforms, digital financial analysis centers, and apply artificial intelligence in monitoring and transactions; at the same time, it must train high-quality human resources who are knowledgeable about finance, technology, and fluent in foreign languages. This financial center is not only a capital transaction center but must also become a place to test new financial products, from fintech to green finance and digital assets to keep up with world trends.

Meanwhile, Dr. Can Van Luc, an economic and financial expert, also noted that Ho Chi Minh City needs to create a fair competitive environment, reduce administrative procedures and improve the quality of public services to attract international investors. According to him, the development of connecting infrastructure - from transportation, telecommunications to digital payment systems - must be one step ahead to meet the increasing demands of the market.

At the same time, the City needs to promote international cooperation, sign mutual recognition agreements in the financial sector, and facilitate the smooth flow of capital and financial services. According to Mr. Can Van Luc, with the advantage of a potential capital market, a restructuring banking system, and a rapidly developing digital economy, if the opportunities are taken advantage of, the International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City will not only attract foreign investment but also become a launching pad to help domestic enterprises reach out to the world.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, Ho Chi Minh City is currently facing a rare opportunity to break through and become an international financial center of the region. The synchronous solutions from the City's leaders, the Government's support and the comments of international experts show strong political determination and the right direction. The remaining issue is to implement on schedule, build a transparent legal framework, train high-quality human resources and create a fair competitive environment. At that time, Ho Chi Minh City will not only affirm its role as an economic locomotive of Vietnam but also move closer to the goal of becoming an international megacity, connecting globally in the new era.

Lesson 3: Identifying 'bottlenecks' to break through in the new era

Source: https://baotintuc.vn/tp-ho-chi-minh/tp-ho-chi-minh-trong-nhiem-ky-moi-bai-2-tu-dau-tau-kinh-te-den-trung-tam-tai-chinh-quoc-te-khu-vuc-20251012202109306.htm