Ho Chi Minh City, known as Vietnam’s commercial capital, is racing to establish itself as Southeast Asia’s next major sci-tech and innovation hub by 2030 while building an ecosystem strong enough for its future International Financial Centre powered by open data, transparent digital assets, and seamless cross-border fintech flows.
Digital backbone takes shape

At last month’s Autumn Economic Forum, policymakers and industry leaders stressed that a world-class “fintech superhighway” built on international partnerships will be the backbone of the planned IFC.

Lam Dinh Thang, Director of the municipal Department of Science and Technology, said the city is pivoting to a growth model driven by knowledge, core technologies, and digital governance, targeting the top-tier regional status in science – technology and innovation by the end of the decade.

Already topping Vietnam’s national digital transformation rankings, HCM City boasts 82% 5G coverage, runs 16 data centres, and hosts more than 2,000 tech start-ups, over half the country’s total, creating a ready-made “fintech expressway”. The ecosystem is valued at 5.22 billion USD, placing the city fifth in Southeast Asia and closing in on the global top 100 start-up rankings.

For 2026–2030, the city has mapped out three strategic breakthroughs: flexible legal frameworks for new economic models; a fortified innovation ecosystem centred on core technologies, intellectual property (IP) and big data; and upgraded digital governance paired with next-generation talent development.

Thang singled out four priority areas for foreign expertise, including IP development models, digital asset mechanisms for the IFC, a Vietnam – Singapore “fintech superhighway”, and governance and capital models for the centre.

Global giants line up

According to the Centre for Socio-economic Simulation and Forecast under the HCM City Institute for Development Studies, the IFC roadmap consists of three phases. The first phase 2025–2030 focuses on necessary legal, institutional, and organisational frameworks. The second phase 2031–2035 aims for the city’s higher place on global financial centre rankings. From 2035 onward, the third phase envisions shaping the IFC into a fully-fledged hub that meets global and regional standards.

Edward Lim, Country Director of BLOCK71 Vietnam, urged authorities to launch pilot programmes immediately rather than wait for perfect regulations, pointing to research labs and “financial incubators” as proven accelerators for independent fintech growth.

Chairman of the municipal People’s Committee Nguyen Van Duoc revealed that nearly 30 international financial heavyweights are preparing to set up operations as early as December 2025, signalling strong early investor confidence in the city’s financial centre ambitions.

Local leaders have repeatedly pledged a transparent, business-friendly environment and hands-on support as companies scale up and help co-create the IFC.

Peng Yang, CEO of Singapore-based Ant International, committed the payment giant’s technology and expertise to help Vietnam build regulatory sandboxes and deploy solutions that deliver measurable on-the-ground impact./.