Ho Chi Minh City is ready with resources to develop a comprehensive financial center.

In the discussion on the orientation to promote the construction of a Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City, at the Dialogue Conference between city leaders and Korean enterprises in 2025 held on March 25, 2025, Mr. Vo Van Hoan, Vice Chairman of the City People's Committee, said that Ho Chi Minh City is oriented to become an international financial center, playing the role of providing financial services, including capital mobilization, investment, savings, payment, issuance of financial products, etc.

Thời báo Ngân hàng•25/03/2025

TP. Hồ Chí Minh sẵn sàng nguồn lực phát triển Trung tâm tài chính toàn diện

Speakers present green finance industry cooperation methods for the future

The first phase is to develop solid foundations for a National Financial Center (2025-2030), then become a Regional Financial Center (2031-2035), and move towards an International and Global Financial Center (after 2035).

To achieve this goal, according to Vice Chairman Vu Van Hoan, first of all, Ho Chi Minh City needs to develop infrastructure, service economic sector and consumer demand. Improve the business - investment environment and living environment of the city, build a culture of using English in the International Financial Center; focus on developing a modern financial platform, digital economic platform, digital finance, capable of linking and combining with traditional financial institutions, having an environment to attract creative startups, encourage businesses to develop new products, organizations and financial markets...; attract investors with strong financial potential, capable of building multi-functional, modern complexes and commit to ensuring investment progress, commit to long-term investment and promote the Vietnam International Financial Center to domestic and foreign investors, especially having influence to attract large financial institutions.

At the same time, attract investors in the fields of innovation, artificial intelligence, research and development (R&D), startups, priority industries, financial technology (fintech), big data, etc.; focus financial organizations and markets in the direction of industry clusters to exploit the synergistic and mutual effects of different financial services and support services; attract investors to develop high-quality ancillary services and utilities to support the Financial Center.

Ms. Nguyen Truc Van, Director of the Center for Socio-Economic Simulation and Forecasting of Ho Chi Minh City, informed that the city is considering the option of the International Financial Center of Ho Chi Minh City being developed based on the existing financial district in the Center of District 1 and forming a financial district in Thu Thiem. These two districts will complement each other with traditional financial services still concentrated in the current financial district; innovative financial services will be concentrated in the new district.

Ho Chi Minh City International Financial Center will include three components: Money Market and Banking System, Capital Market and Derivatives Market.

In which, the monetary market and banking system develop services, the market and traditional credit institutions play a role in developing the national monetary and banking system; building a state management framework towards international standards; breaking through new financial services including: Digital banking and Fintech.

Capital market: Develop the stock market and corporate bonds into two pillars of the national capital market; prioritize necessary policies so that the stock market is classified as an emerging market, develop the capital market in a multi-functional direction, integrating many financial services.

The derivatives market is formed and developed at the Ho Chi Minh City Commodity Exchange. Encourage the construction and formation of an ecosystem for the trading of commodities through the Commodity Exchange as well as commodity derivatives trading. Develop a mechanism for interconnection with foreign Commodity Exchanges.

According to experts, to become a regional and global financial center, Ho Chi Minh City needs to choose breakthrough new financial services such as fintech and digital banking, connecting fintech and startups in other business fields.

In particular, according to the green financial development orientation, it is necessary to implement green financial mechanisms and products to support the city's transition to a sustainable economy and Vietnam's goal of achieving net zero emissions by 2050. However, the most important thing is still preparing resources for the city's breakthrough in building, developing and operating a comprehensive international financial center.

Discussing this issue, Mr. Michael Chin, Independent Board Member of Vingroup Corporation and Pepper Savings Bank shared the experience of the Northeast Asia Financial Center of Korea which has achieved certain results through infrastructure construction, regulatory reform and technological innovation, building global financial infrastructure... In particular, the green financial system is very important to Korea, which is a financial activity "with the goal of sustainable economic development and environmental protection"; supporting carbon emission reduction through green bonds and sustainable bonds; carbon market and the operation of the Korean Emissions Trading System (K-ETS). Long-term financial support for renewable energy projects.

Through lessons learned from Korea, the development strategy of Ho Chi Minh City Financial Center needs to focus on building potential markets, supply chain finance (SCF) and building a commercial financial center, creating information technology infrastructure, digital finance, fintech, back office... Focus on applying green finance (Green Finance) and a sustainable financial ecosystem.

“Because the importance of green finance for future development is extremely important, the Ho Chi Minh City government should focus resources on building a potential international financial center of the city, starting with investing in green finance infrastructure, supply chain finance (SCF) and building a commercial finance center. From there, we aim to become the center of the Southeast Asian region with a variety of digital financial services, fintech, back office, forming IT infrastructure, applying sustainable financial ecosystems and green finance, carbon credit…”, Mr. Michael Chin shared.

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