At a discussion session of the Vietnam Finance Forum 2026 on July 10, experts said the decisive factor in developing the Vietnam International Financial Center (VIFC) is not the number of financial products but the establishment of a strong market infrastructure that inspires investor confidence.
Speaking at the forum, Bhaskar Dasgupta, former chairman of Apex Fundrock, said the foundation of an international financial center lies in a robust market infrastructure rather than the quantity of financial products. Such infrastructure includes a sound legal framework, clearing mechanisms, client asset protection, capital mobility, and system security. These elements provide the basis for custody services, payment systems, risk transfer mechanisms, and the development of financial products.
According to Dasgupta, international investors typically focus on three key issues: the ability to bring capital into the market, the availability of foreign exchange risk hedging throughout the investment cycle, and the ability to exit investments through a sufficiently liquid foreign exchange market.
He proposed four priorities such as completing the legal framework, partnering with international financial infrastructure operators, developing a genuinely liquid foreign exchange market, and publishing a roadmap for developing derivatives products.
Offering another perspective, Professor Nguyen Xuan Thao, director of the ASEAN Law Center at the University of Washington School of Law in the United States, said data is becoming a new asset class in the digital economy. Beyond supporting credit scoring, data can also create new financial products and generate new market demand.
He said Da Nang City should study the application of a regulatory sandbox for data and data analytics while improving laws governing secured transactions and new lending models to diversify funding sources and spread risks.
Nguyen Huu Hieu, co-founder and chief executive officer of FiinGroup Vietnam, proposed building AI-powered data and intelligence infrastructure to create a "trust operating system" consisting of reliable data, integrated data platforms, and analytical tools that support decision-making.
"Buildings create a financial district, but only trust creates an international financial center. Capital always flows to where trust exists," he said.
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