On the evening of January 19 (local time, early morning of January 20 Vietnam time), Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh had a meeting with the Vietnamese community in Hungary.

At the meeting, Dr. Thieu Ngoc Lan Phuong (35 years old, working at the National Center for Gene and Biodiversity Conservation of Hungary) hoped to have a mechanism for the Association of Vietnamese Intellectuals in Hungary to participate in the construction of Vietnam's first international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City.

After 6 years of establishment, the Intellectuals Association has more than 100 members, including 5 professors, 8 associate professors, 39 doctors and more than 30 masters working at universities, research institutes and leading companies in Hungary.

"We have great scientific potential and can connect all Vietnamese experts in Hungary. The intellectual association has professors and doctors who are very strong in financial mathematics as well as financial technology," Dr. Phuong shared.

After hearing this proposal, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh asked Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai to answer Dr. Phuong's question about the plan to build an international financial center in the city.

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Dr. Thieu Ngoc Lan Phuong.

Presenting to overseas intellectuals, Mr. Phan Van Mai said that Ho Chi Minh City, in addition to being an economic center, is also a center of science and technology - a place where one can connect and absorb knowledge from outside to solve problems of the city in particular and of Vietnam in general.

Therefore, Ho Chi Minh City wants to connect with overseas Vietnamese and Vietnamese intellectuals abroad, especially in Hungary, to solve these problems together.

Regarding the first international financial center in Vietnam, under the close direction of the Prime Minister, Ho Chi Minh City has basically completed the Project to build an international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City.

The Prime Minister assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment to be the lead agency, coordinating with ministries and branches to collect expert opinions to submit to the Government, the Politburo and then the National Assembly, to have a legal framework for the international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City to operate.

The financial center in Ho Chi Minh City is also operating with international elements, but according to standards, it needs to learn more, establish a model and will start with the city's own strengths. He cited experts' comments that Ho Chi Minh City can be ahead in some pillars, for example, the capital market, the derivatives market, fintech, some special mechanisms and policies, superior to the legal level of the whole country to attract strategic investors...

Along with this orientation, it is necessary to take into account the judicial institution to be able to resolve disputes during the operation of the international financial center.

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Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai.

The Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City said that the city is researching and trying to submit to the Politburo in 2024 for approval on mechanisms and policies to build an international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City. After that, it will report to the National Assembly or the National Assembly Standing Committee to have a resolution to help the international financial center come into operation.

Mr. Mai hopes that experts in the fields of economics and finance, who are Vietnamese living abroad and have experience, knowledge and relationships with international organizations and experts, will help Ho Chi Minh City receive and connect with consultants to complete the project.

The Chairman of Ho Chi Minh City said that at the World Economic Forum (WEF Davos, Switzerland) chaired by Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, Vietnam worked with foreign organizations and experts on this issue.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh agreed with ministries, branches, representatives of banks and leading financial investment funds in the world on the establishment of a Working Group to research and advise on the construction of a financial center in Vietnam, chaired by Dr. Philipp Rösler (former Deputy Prime Minister of Germany, currently Honorary Consul General of Vietnam in Switzerland), Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung and Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee Phan Van Mai.

The Prime Minister hopes that global corporations and investment funds will share their experiences and provide advice on choosing appropriate development models and solutions to develop a financial center in Vietnam, develop a financial ecosystem, improve national credit ratings, and enhance standards in accounting, auditing, and financial reporting, creating an important foundation for the successful development of an international financial center in the future.

The Prime Minister established an international advisory group to build a financial center in Vietnam. The Prime Minister hopes that global corporations and investment funds will share their experiences and provide advice on choosing appropriate development models and solutions to develop a financial center in Vietnam.