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| Financial centres will ensure new standards |
At a conference on building Vietnam’s international financial centre (IFC) by the Ministry of Finance in coordination with Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee on March 28, domestic and international experts shared ideas to shape different support services, helping Ho Chi Minh City’s IFC carve out its own position and be competitive enough.
According to Jens Lottner, CEO of Techcombank, the IFC is opening up many new opportunities for the market.
“For example, the whole market will have to raise its standards according to international transaction criteria, and businesses can borrow capital in Vietnam without having to go through other bridges like Singapore,” Lottner said.
Great opportunities also lie in the technology sector. According to Lottner, Asia has countries that provide advanced financial services and develop digital assets such as cryptocurrencies. “Therefore, it is key that Vietnam can look for suitable simulation models, especially blockchain products, cryptocurrencies, and AI applications in commercial products,” he said.
In addition to digital assets, the second service group that should be focused on is green finance, in which Vietnam has many advantages, such as large renewable energy sources.
“Vietnam needs to quickly build a green finance portfolio according to international standards, establish promotion systems and have clear regulations on carbon emissions to motivate investors,” he said.
Traditional asset management companies are also facing new opportunities, in the context of a market size that is still very modest compared to international standards.
According to Nguyen Hoai Thu, chairwoman of VinaCapital Fund Management, if Ho Chi Minh City becomes an IFC, it will help pull in more new investors as well as international capital flows to the Vietnamese market.
“In this context, fund businesses that are slow in terms of technology management will also have to change. When there are many new high-tech products such as blockchain, for example, existing systems in the capital market will also need to change accordingly,” Thu said.
In terms of products, Thu also believes that tokenising traditional financial products will make them easier to trade and more attractive to foreign investors. “Some changes are definitely needed to help the capital market develop more strongly in the future, including tax incentives or removing barriers that are no longer practical,” Thu said.
Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, Deputy Minister of Finance, commented that the construction of an international financial hub in Vietnam must have its own identity, different from any other country, taking advantage of comparative factors in terms of economy, society, and geopolitics.
“Vietnam has strongly integrated into the international economy, and so this is an opportunity for Vietnam to develop special types of finance trade finance. Vietnam also has stronger conditions to build an IFC based on the export of agricultural products and traditional goods. It is also possible to build commodity exchanges based on blockchain,” Ngoc said.
Andrew Oldland, head of the International Financial Centre Working Group under TheCityUK, said that Vietnam needs to adjust its IFC construction model to suit the context, in which it must create a difference from successful financial centres in the world.
“When building policies, Vietnam needs to have a mechanism for free money flow, clearly identify innovation trends in financial centres such as fintech and green finance,” Oldland said. “Modern financial services can only be truly effective when an IFC meets two core conditions: infrastructure and talent human resources.”
Nguyen Thuy Hanh, CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Vietnam, suggested that financial centre must ensure a stable and safe foreign exchange trading environment, simplify the process of granting work permits and international investment cooperation.
“Owning this environment will make it easier for international financial institutions to co-finance large projects, especially in the fields of infrastructure and green finance. Good infrastructure is an essential condition to pull in international investment sources,” Hanh said.
The issue of talent human resource is also a key condition that many businesses mentioned, especially the banking sector and fund management companies, together with the other pillars of legal framework and infrastructure, according to Iain Frew, British Ambassador to Vietnam.
“IFCs require specific skills and higher standards. The younger generation can do it, but how to engage resources to implement this initiative is an important question that Vietnam must answer,” Frew said.
Source: VIR
