Building an international financial center in Ho Chi Minh City: Foreign experts share experiences

At the conference, a representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Finance said that the city is orienting to develop and attract investment in high-tech industries, financial services and digital technology centers. In particular, it is attracting investors with financial potential to build the Ho Chi Minh City International Financial Center.

A representative of the City's Center for Socio-Economic Simulation and Forecasting (City Development Research Institute) said that the focus of the project to establish an international financial center in the city is to develop core financial services, attract a diverse financial business ecosystem, and build Ho Chi Minh City into a fintech (financial technology) destination in the region.

The center's representative said that the city is currently considering the plan for the city's International Financial Center to be developed based on the existing financial district in the center of District 1 and to form a financial district in Thu Thiem. At the same time, it is calling on major financial institutions, technology enterprises and strategic investors to participate, capable of building multi-functional, modern complexes and committing to ensure investment progress, long-term investment commitment and promoting the Vietnam International Financial Center to domestic and foreign investors; especially having the influence to attract major financial institutions.

At the same time, the HCM City International Financial Center aims to attract investors in the fields of innovation, artificial intelligence, research and development (R&D), fintech, big data, etc., focusing on financial organizations and markets in the direction of industrial clusters to exploit the synergistic and mutual effects of different financial services and support services; attracting investors to develop high-quality ancillary services and utilities to support the International Financial Center.

The HCMC International Financial Center consists of 3 components: Money market and banking system; capital market and derivatives market. In which, the city chooses to innovate new financial services: Fintech and digital banking; connecting fintech and startups in other business fields. Along with that is the green finance sector: Implementing 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.

Finally, the commodity exchange, forming and developing the Ho Chi Minh City Commodity Exchange linked to the agricultural product market in the Mekong Delta and the Central Highlands, linked to the market of raw materials for production and industrial processing in the Southeast, connecting with global commodity exchanges and investors.

At the meeting, Mr. Michael Jaewuk Chin, independent member of the Board of Directors of Pepper Savings Bank (Korea) shared Korea's experience in building an international financial center in Northeast Asia, emphasizing three factors: Building financial infrastructure, regulatory reform and technological innovation (digital banking, mobile finance, blockchain).

Mr. Michael recommends that the development strategy of the Ho Chi Minh City International Financial Center is to focus on building a potential supply chain finance (SCF) market and building a commercial finance center; creating information technology infrastructure, digital finance, fintech; applying green finance and a sustainable financial ecosystem.

"HCMC has many opportunities to become the regional international financial center with advantages in high-tech human resources, reasonable living and spending costs; and support policies from the Government and HCMC are accelerating digital transformation and green transformation," said Mr. Michael.

To promote Vietnam-Korea cooperation, Mr. Michael also proposed implementing a green bond system, a joint carbon credit trading project and cooperation in renewable energy development; stating that green finance is not only the key to helping Ho Chi Minh City become an international financial center, but also creating momentum for sustainable development of both countries.

Figures released at the meeting showed that there are currently more than 80,000 Koreans living and working in Ho Chi Minh City, along with more than 2,000 Korean enterprises operating. Korea is the third largest investor in the city with 2,286 projects and a total investment of 5.5 billion USD. This is an important resource contributing to the economic and social development of the city and an effective bridge between the two countries.

At the meeting, the representative of the City People's Committee emphasized that in the context of the City promoting economic development and attracting investment, the City leaders committed to continuing to improve the investment environment, maintain political and social stability, and support foreign enterprises, especially Korean enterprises, for long-term and sustainable development.

Bui Yen

Source: https://baophapluat.vn/xay-dung-trung-tam-tai-chinh-quoc-te-tai-tp-hcm-chuyen-gia-nuoc-ngoai-chia-se-kinh-nghiem-post543960.html