Developing Ho Chi Minh City into an international financial center: a new driving force for development

Many experts say this is the ideal time to turn Ho Chi Minh City into a global financial center. Of course, there is still much work to be done to implement this plan.

Ho Chi Minh City's traffic infrastructure is constantly developing - Photo: VAN TRUNG

Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan (Head of Finance Department, University of Economics, Ho Chi Minh City):

Free financial zone - key to developing international financial center

In the context of many countries having succeeded in building international financial centers such as Singapore, Dubai or Frankfurt, Vietnam needs a different direction to create a competitive advantage. Ho Chi Minh City should aim for a financial technology (fintech) center model with a combination of traditional finance and modern technology.

The key to realizing this goal is to build a free financial zone - a place that allows capital to flow freely and flexibly.

Here, financial institutions and banks are allowed to trade in USD and other foreign currencies, even cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin or crypto. This model has been successfully applied in Singapore - where multi-currency transactions such as USD, euro are allowed in addition to SGD.

The free financial zone will facilitate domestic enterprises to list stocks and bonds to raise international capital. Foreign investors will be more confident in investing when they do not have to worry about foreign currency conversion costs and foreign exchange management barriers when withdrawing capital or transferring profits. At the same time, foreign companies are also allowed to list here through parallel listing or cross-listing.

To ensure monetary security, capital flows from Vietnam into this area need to be managed according to quotas. Control should be implemented flexibly within allowable limits, avoiding being too strict, reducing the attractiveness of the financial center.

Associate Professor, Dr. Tran Hoang Ngan ( National Assembly delegate):

New development momentum of Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City has long prepared to become an international financial center. With the consensus of the Politburo , the city has a solid foundation to realize this goal.

To successfully develop an international financial center, five important factors need to converge.

The first is a transparent legal environment, in line with international standards, with attractive incentive policies. Resolutions on specific mechanisms need to be detailed, easy to implement and highly feasible.

The second factor is synchronous investment in infrastructure, including physical facilities, digital infrastructure, financial technology, transportation, airports and seaports. Singapore is a typical success story thanks to the strong development of the transit port system, logistics and international aviation.

The remaining three factors include: developing high-quality human resources through attracting domestic and foreign experts; strengthening international connections with major financial centers in the world; and promoting the development of financial technology (fintech) and start-ups in this field.

Along with the city planning for the period 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050, the development of an international financial center will create new momentum for Ho Chi Minh City to continue playing the role of economic locomotive of the country.

Associate Professor, Dr. Hoang Cong Gia Khanh (Rector of University of Economics and Law):

Sandbox - a breakthrough solution for fintech development

As fintech reshapes the future of the financial services industry, Ho Chi Minh City is aiming to become a fintech hub through ecosystem development and innovation promotion, instead of pursuing the traditional financial center model that has been fiercely competitive.

Practice shows that many new business and service models have emerged that are not yet included in the current legal framework.

To balance the goal of promoting innovation with protecting the market and users, a controlled testing mechanism (sandbox) is considered a key solution.

Sandboxes allow for “exemptions” from certain legal regulations within a controlled framework, both facilitating innovation and limiting risks for end users.

To develop into a fintech hub, Ho Chi Minh City needs to focus on several important factors. The first is to build a vibrant fintech startup community through the establishment of a common space and continuous support programs. The second is to issue policies to attract investment from reputable companies and angel investors, increasing opportunities for startups to access venture capital.

Experiences from Singapore and London show that strong political commitment and proactive regulatory role are key factors in creating competitive advantage. At the same time, the city needs to have policies to attract highly qualified international human resources, while investing in education to develop high-quality domestic human resources to meet the development needs of the fintech industry.

Mr. Truong Hien Phuong (senior director of Kis Securities Vietnam):

Ho Chi Minh City needs "breakthrough" solutions

Developing Ho Chi Minh City into an international financial center is an inevitable step and needs to be implemented decisively. With its existing position as the leading financial center of the country, the city has great potential to reach regional and international levels, but it needs to address a number of key challenges.

The first challenge is that the legal framework needs to be expanded for international integration. Typically, allowing foreign exchange transactions - a common activity in the world's financial centers but currently not implemented in Vietnam.

At the same time, it is necessary to build a mechanism to attract large financial institutions by creating a favorable business environment and an open playground for businesses.

In terms of infrastructure, the city needs to prepare high-quality office space, large-scale computer center systems and ensure network security to meet the needs of international financial institutions.

In particular, upgrading the stock market is an important condition to attract large capital flows. Improvements such as extending trading hours, upgrading technology and applying T0 trading should also be considered to suit international investment culture.

Learning from the success of Singapore, which took 30 years to become a leading financial center, Ho Chi Minh City needs to focus on open policies and institutional reforms. The implementation of this project should be carried out in parallel with the restructuring process to ensure optimal efficiency.

Dr. Tran Quang Thang (Director of Ho Chi Minh City Institute of Economics and Management):

Challenges Ho Chi Minh City needs to overcome

Looking at the success of the world's leading financial centers such as New York, London, Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai, it can be seen that they all possess key factors: modern infrastructure, transparent legal systems, attractive tax incentives and favorable business environments. These are valuable lessons for Ho Chi Minh City in its journey to become an international financial center.

To achieve this goal, Ho Chi Minh City needs to overcome many important challenges. First of all, it is necessary to build a transparent, stable and internationally standardized legal system to create confidence for investors. At the same time, it is necessary to develop a synchronous financial infrastructure, including the banking system, stock exchange and financial institutions.

The next major challenge is high-quality human resources. The city needs to have a strategy for training, attracting and retaining talent in the financial sector. At the same time, it must build its own competitive advantage to attract investment in the context of fierce competition with other financial centers in the region.

In addition, ensuring political and economic stability and keeping up with technological trends, especially fintech and artificial intelligence, are also decisive factors for the success of Ho Chi Minh City as an international financial center. This requires close coordination between the government, the financial sector and the business community.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/phat-trien-tp-hcm-thanh-trung-tam-tai-chinh-quoc-te-dong-luc-phat-trien-moi-2025010409292368.htm