The center, which will operate under the Vietnam International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City, will focus on financial services serving trade and logistics operations.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan, Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of the Vietnam International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City (VIFC-HCMC), the city has significant advantages in maritime infrastructure, particularly the Cai Mep-Thi Vai port cluster and the Can Gio International Transshipment Port project, which broke ground in late April.

Despite the large volume of cargo moving through Ho Chi Minh City’s port system, most related financial transactions are still conducted in Singapore and Hong Kong, which are home to international financial centers.

The value of cargo moving through ports in the Ho Chi Minh City area is estimated at more than US$1 trillion annually. However, most financial transactions related to these cargo flows continue to be conducted in Singapore and Hong Kong rather than in Vietnam.

Around 80-90% of financial transactions tied to import-export and logistics activities in the region are still handled by international financial centers in the region, where legal frameworks, foreign currency liquidity and financial services are more fully developed. VIFC-HCMC seeks to develop this segment through a maritime financial ecosystem in the coming years.

According to Huan, one reason international businesses have yet to choose Vietnam as a base for financial transactions is concern over the legal framework and capital flow management. He said an international court will be established within the Vietnam International Financial Center in Ho Chi Minh City, which is expected to help attract more investors.

“The goal of VIFC-HCMC is to bring around 30% of the value of transactions currently conducted abroad for cargo moving through Vietnamese ports back to Vietnam within the next five years, equivalent to roughly US$300 billion annually. We also have a strategy to achieve that,” Huan added.

PM Chinh confident in Vietnam’s ability to build international financial center

VOV.VN - Prime Minster Pham Minh Chinh expressed confidence that Vietnam will achieve remarkable progress in building and developing the international financial center, gradually moving toward the goal of becoming a financial center of global scale while contributing to common growth and prosperity in the region and beyond.