At the forum “Promoting Ho Chi Minh City’s International Financial Center: Opportunities and Challenges for Enterprises” held this morning in HCMC, experts said Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang have been emerging as key locations aligned with the country’s digital and financial transformation strategies.
The forum was held by InnoLab Asia in collaboration with the city’s Department of Science and Technology, the Vietnam Blockchain and Digital Assets Association (VBA), the Da Nang Startup and Innovation Support Center, and Saigon Entrepreneur Magazine.
Opening the event, Anirban Roy, Senior Partner at InnoLab Asia, emphasized that international financial centers (IFCs) are an essential component of an integrated economy where technology, finance, and governance intersect to generate new value. He highlighted Vietnam’s pioneering role in Southeast Asia, noting that the development of IFCs in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang aligns with the national strategy for digital industry and sustainable digital finance.
Tran Huyen Dinh, Head of the VBA Fintech Application Committee pointed out that global models such as Hong Kong, Singapore, and Dubai show that success depends not merely on tax incentives or geographic advantages but on institutional capacity, flexible legal frameworks, and a unified regulatory technology (Regtech) system.
According to the Global Financial Centres Index 38 (GFCI 38) released in September 2025, Ho Chi Minh City currently scores 664 points, ranking 95th among 120 global financial centers — ahead of Bangkok (657 points) but still behind Hong Kong (764) and Singapore (762). Mr. Tran Huyen Dinh stressed that Vietnam must balance policy, technology, and market forces to build an integrated digital financial ecosystem.
During the discussion session titled “Opportunities and Challenges for Enterprises in Ho Chi Minh City’s International Financial Center,” Marketing and Distribution Director Will Ross at Dragon Capital observed that Vietnam is now in an advantageous position to advance its IFC ambitions, given its stable economic growth and increasingly mature capital markets.
From a technology enterprise perspective, Tran Huy Vu, Co-founder of Kyber Network, remarked that international financial centers are not limited to banking or investment activities — they also create opportunities for tech firms to develop digital financial services.
Also speaking at the session, Le Anh Quoc, Chief Operating Officer of AlphaTrue Solutions, shared insights from Basal Pay, the first licensed pilot project in Da Nang to convert digital assets into fiat currency. He emphasized that the most crucial lesson is building a rigorous sandbox framework that fosters collaboration between regulators and businesses. “A sandbox is not merely a testing ground for technology — it’s also a mechanism for verifying compliance capacity,” he noted. “We hope Ho Chi Minh City will establish a similar framework that allows Vietnamese enterprises to participate in the international financial center’s value chain from the very beginning.”
