Ho Chi Minh City is studying breakthrough mechanisms and policies on science, technology, innovation and digital transformation for inclusion in the draft Law on Special Urban Areas, while accelerating support measures for businesses and digital infrastructure development.
The Standing Agency of the Ho Chi Minh City Steering Committee for Science, Technology, Innovation and Digital Transformation recently announced conclusions by Mr. Dang Minh Thong, Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee and Standing Deputy Head of the city’s Steering Committee.
The conclusions were made during the committee’s 14th meeting, which reviewed the implementation progress of tasks assigned by the Government and the city.
Deputy Secretary of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Dang Minh Thong noted that agencies and units had made significant efforts in carrying out assigned tasks. However, progress in several areas remained slow, while coordination among agencies was at times ineffective and insufficiently synchronized.
He urged Party secretaries and heads of agencies and units to accelerate implementation, closely follow deadlines and ensure all assigned tasks are completed in 2026.
Accordingly, the Party Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee was requested to direct departments and agencies to continue researching and proposing breakthrough policies and mechanisms related to science, technology and innovation for inclusion in the draft Law on Special Urban Areas.
The city will also continue effectively implementing policies related to venture capital funds, commercialization of scientific research results and intellectual property, and support programs for enterprises.
Authorities were asked to soon submit additional support policies to the municipal People’s Council for approval, particularly policies supporting businesses operating in science, technology, innovation and digital transformation, especially small and medium-sized enterprises.
The city is also studying financial support mechanisms for personnel engaged in science, technology, innovation and digital transformation tasks within the political system.
Mr. Dang Minh Thong also commended the Ho Chi Minh City Public Security Department and related agencies for completing seven out of 13 key national and specialized databases. He requested relevant agencies to speed up progress on the remaining databases while ensuring that data is accurate, complete, clean, updated, unified and immediately usable.
Authorities were instructed to quickly complete the remaining three databases — healthcare, agriculture, and court judgments — while working closely with city police to meet the planned deadline.
The Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee Office was tasked with establishing a working group and developing a Gantt chart to oversee implementation, aiming to pilot several modules before June 30 this year, while reporting weekly progress to the Steering Committee.
The municipal Department of Public Security were assigned to urgently implement measures to strengthen inspection, supervision, cybersecurity and data protection for information technology infrastructure within the city’s political system, while preparing timely responses to cyberattack risks by June.
At the same time, alongside investment procedures for the city’s Security Operations Center (SOC), authorities were asked to study implementation models from other localities to ensure the center becomes operational by early October 2026.
The city will also organize cybersecurity training and simulation exercises in the third quarter of 2026, while strengthening guidance and inspections related to cybersecurity, information safety and the management of confidential documents to prevent data leaks and information exposure.
