The resolution on developing an international financial centre (IFC) in Vietnam, which was passed by the National Assembly on June 27, will take effect from September 1.

Vietnam will develop an IFC in both Ho Chi Minh City and Danang to utilise the strengths of each city.

The financial centre in Ho Chi Minh City will develop capital markets, banks, currency markets, a fintech sandbox, and innovation in the financial sector, as well as establish specialised trading and new trading platforms.

In Danang, the financial centre will develop green finance, apply fintech, and digital services, a sandbox on digital assets, digital currencies, payments, and attract investment funds, remittance funds, and fund management companies.

The two cities have prepared human resources, facilities, infrastructure, and investment promotion with strategic and financial investors to build and operate the IFC.

“Vietnam has many young talents, and the IFC is the place for new ideas and business models to become reality. The country can also take advantage to become one of the world’s leading exporters,” said Jochen Biedermann, managing director of the World Alliance of IFCs.

An IFC with two locations is said to be suitable for Vietnam’s development needs. Ho Chi Minh City is the economic centre of the country, while Danang also has a strategic position, combined with a newly approved free trade zone model.

Ho Chi Minh City plans to utilise an area in District 1 and Thu Thiem New Urban Area covering ​​783 hectares, while Danang plans five land plots located next to major roads, and another land of 350ha to build a financial centre.

Ho Ky Minh, Permanent Vice Chairman of Danang People’s Committee, said, “The city has established a preparatory committee, including 27 members and an advisory council with 10 members, to accelerate the establishment of the IFC. In the third quarter of 2025, the city will send 10 officials and civil servants, including those with associate professor and doctoral degrees, to study training programmes at international organisations.”

To attract more investment resources to the financial centre, experts recommended that localities increase investment in infrastructure. “An IFC is not just a physical building, but an entire ecosystem. International experience shows that, to attract high-quality personnel, each centre needs to develop services and utilities in life such as entertainment, shopping, and medical examination,” said Nguyen Ba Hung, chief economist of the Asian Development Bank in Vietnam.

The resolution sets out many specific policies for the development of IFCs in Vietnam, including foreign exchange, banking, tax incentives, capital market development, fintech and innovation, and the development of markets and commodity exchanges.

In terms of commodity exchanges, some of Vietnam’s agricultural products have the highest turnover in the world, such as rice, coffee, and cashew nuts. Building commodity exchanges will help agricultural products gain an even greater position and control prices. However, it is also necessary to clearly define the authority to establish these exchanges.

Tran Hoang Ngan, a National Assembly deputy, said, “We should not launch many exchanges and then lose control of them. We should build standards and announce the conditions. We can form a single-member limited company, and later establish a joint stock company with the participation of state capital, similar to the formation of the Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi stock exchanges.”

Products provided in the IFC would include the establishment of platforms, commodity trading platforms, commodity derivatives, carbon credits, cultural and artistic products, precious metals, and green finance.

In addition to physical goods, cryptoasset exchanges and digital assets will also be able to operate in the centre. This aims to manage virtual currency flows at home, while Vietnam currently ranks second in the world in terms of the rate of people owning digital assets.

The resolution also provides notable incentives. Specifically, foreigners working in the IFC will be exempt from personal income tax until 2030. Projects in priority areas will be assigned and leased land for a maximum of 70 years; in other areas, the land use term is no more than 50 years.

These projects are also subject to a preferential corporate income tax (CIT) rate of 10 per cent for 30 years, a maximum tax exemption for four years, and a 50 per cent reduction in payable tax for the next nine years. For projects not in priority sectors, the CIT rate is 15 per cent for 15 years, a maximum tax exemption for two years, and a 50 per cent reduction in payable tax for the next four years.

In addition, the dispute resolution mechanism in business investment is also a key issue when building an IFC. Parties will be allowed to use dispute resolution methods according to Vietnamese law, or at foreign and international arbitration.

Discussing at the National Assembly before voting, Minister of Finance Nguyen Van Thang said that the government saw the risks of establishing trading platforms, which would potentially pose some risks such as speculation, price inflation, and asset bubbles. Accordingly, the legal framework needs to be built synchronously, with strict and transparent monitoring institutions to manage transactions.

“The government will study regulations related to the mechanism for controlling capital inflow and outflow risks, preventing money laundering, or flexible liquidity management tools,” the minister said.

Source: Vietnam Investment Review