Ho Chi Minh City is the growth pioneer, the commercial and financial center of Vietnam. The city aspires to retain its leading position in the country and catch up with well performing cities in Southeast Asia and Asia. In today’s era of globalization in commerce, investment, finance and technology, one way for the city to realize its ambition is to catch up with the modern trends and develop the city into a regional, and eventually, international financial center.

To realize this ambition, HCMC People’s Committee commissioned FSPPM to conduct the project Developing Ho Chi Minh City into a regional and international financial center. In 2019, FSPPM completed Phase 1 of the project. Based on the research findings, in July 2019, HCMC People’s Committee successfully organized the conference Developing HCMC into a regional and international financial center. The majority of the participants of the conference were senior leaders of the city, representatives of State Bank of Vietnam, representatives of the city departments and agencies, and international and national experts.

The project successfully set the stage for initial policy discussions in 4 main themes:

1. Current situation – mission and timeline to develop HCMC into an international financial center;
2. Lessons and experiences in building an international financial center;
3. The ecosystem for sustainable development of an international financial center;
4. Strategies for national policies and the role of city leaders in making HCMC an international and regional financial center. 

The Ho Chi Minh Economic Forum 2019 (HEF 2019), which took place in October 2019 with the theme Developing HCMC into a regional and international financial center, discussed the aforementioned topics. The conference received the participation of over 800 representatives including central and local government leaders, international and domestic research experts in the finance industries. As the most important social-economic event of the year, HEF 2019 officially delivered the message that HCMC development strategies should be integral in Vietnam’s plan to change its growth model and plan to develop the Southern economic center.

The city’s ambition to become the national, regional and international finance center not only drives the country’s growth in the short term but also serves as the solid foundation for Vietnam in transforming into a new growth model and enhance the status of Vietnam internationally. As a result, FSPPM’s project is highly appreciated for its critical role to HCMC and should be considered a national economic project.

In 2020, FSPPM continues to collaborate with HCMC People’s Committee and HFIC to conduct other studies and support the city leaders in developing socio-economic development strategies in the coming time as part of the national development plan.