According to a recent statement by Nguyen Van Dung, Vice Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee, regarding preparations for the financial center, relevant agencies must collaborate closely to finalize reports and proposals for the city. This aims to ensure the financial center is operational by early September.
The Department of Finance will lead the effort, working with the City Development Research Institute to hire qualified and experienced consultants to participate in the construction and management of the financial center.
The Department of Culture and Sports is tasked with preparing communication materials for the city's implementation of the National Assembly's resolution. The Department of Construction will review relevant plans and projects in the Thu Thiem area, proposing appropriate planning adjustments. This information will serve as a basis for the city to attract strategic investors to the financial center's development.
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Real estate in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, 7/2025. Photo: Quynh Tran |
Real estate in downtown Ho Chi Minh City, 7/2025. Photo: Quynh Tran
The National Assembly passed the resolution to develop an international financial center in Vietnam on 27/6, with over 93.5% of delegates in favor. Effective from 1/9, the resolution guides the development of financial centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, with a unified management mechanism but specialized products tailored to each locality's strengths.
Ho Chi Minh City's center is envisioned to offer comprehensive products and services, including banking, capital markets linked with asset management, and fund management. It will also feature regulatory sandboxes for fintech, innovation, specialized exchanges, and derivatives. Da Nang will focus on green finance, financial technology, digital services, and controlled testing of digital assets and currencies, attracting investment funds.
The government aims to have Ho Chi Minh City's financial center operational in 2025 and completed within five years. The center, planned for the Saigon and Ben Thanh wards (former District 1) and the Thu Thiem urban area, spans 783 hectares. This includes 719 hectares of land and 64 hectares of the Saigon River. The initial phase will prioritize a 9.2-hectare core area in Thu Thiem, housing the headquarters of financial management, supervisory, and judicial bodies.
The estimated total investment for the entire project is approximately 172,000 billion VND (equivalent to 7 billion USD). The core area requires approximately 16,000 billion VND for the first two to three years, including 2,000 billion VND from the state budget for government offices. The remaining funds are expected to come from domestic and international strategic investors.
Phuong Uyen
