Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has demanded that the International Financial Center in HCMC be launched on Feb. 9 at the earliest, with efficiency a priority.
Work on the International Financial Center in Da Nang City must also be carried out in parallel, including finalizing the institutional framework and physical infrastructure while recruiting personnel, he told a meeting Friday, adding that the Specialized Court must also be developed.
The International Financial Center in Vietnam was approved under a National Assembly resolution in June last year. It will operate under a “one center, two destinations” model, located in HCMC, the southern metropolis, and the coastal city of Da Nang in the central region.
Under this model, HCMC will serve as a large-scale financial hub, with strong development in stock, bond and banking markets, fund management and listing services.
Da Nang will focus on developing financial services linked to logistics, maritime activities, free trade and industrial–agricultural supply chains. The planned area for the center is 899 hectares in HCMC and 300 hectares in Da Nang.
Government leaders said that the establishment of the international financial center faces several challenges, including competition from regional and global centers in attracting high-quality human resources and international experts.
Urban infrastructure, services, and international-standard living and working spaces also require concrete planning with clearer resource allocation.
PM Chinh has instructed the Ministry of Home Affairs to review and study policies from other jurisdictions and submit to the government a decree on appropriate regimes and policies.
HCMC is to coordinate with telecoms giant Viettel and Da Nang to connect operational technology infrastructure, ensuring it is “accurate, clean, interconnected and shared”.
The two locations must not be tangled in internal competition, overlap and dispersion, the PM said, adding that government bodies need to take the initiative in issuing necessary mechanisms and policies.
Singapore’s United Overseas Bank is set to become the first foreign lender to build its headquarters at the International Financial Center in HCMC.
