Developing HCMC int'l financial center will be ‘difficult’

"We will research the plan thoroughly and report to the National Assembly in the coming time," Minister of Planning and Investment Nguyen Chi Dung told a Friday meeting of the top legislature's Standing Committee.

He added that construction of the center would be a large and "difficult" project.

The ministry has no experience with the concept, scope, resources, models, and conditions necessary to form an international financial center, he said.

A draft plan published by HCMC authorities last February aims to establish the international financial center by 2030. The plan contains three main components: a monetary and banking market, a capital market, and a derivatives market.

To implement the plan, the city will map out four specific action programs, including: the development of fintech, digital banking and digital financial transactions, expansion of the center’s regional integration, development of the Thu Thiem Financial - Commercial Zone, and the development of a commodities market.

Part of the plan will also be to establish an independent digital bank and a commodity derivatives exchange.

The international financial center plan also calls for an entertainment area and a casino to draw in more investors.

The city has drawn up a roadmap to develop the project in three phases through 2030.