Two engines – one vision

The decision to implement the “one centre, two engines” model is not only based on national strategy but also reflects confidence built over years of reform. Ho Chi Minh City, as the hub of traditional financial and banking markets, will lead in-depth financial services with international integration capabilities. Da Nang, tasked with pioneering new directions, will serve as the testing ground for digital finance, tokenised assets, and controlled technology sandboxes.

A model of a hub like an airplane with two engines spreading its wings to integrate into the global financial world. Each engine is part of a unified policy structure operating on a modern legal foundation. While Da Nang pilots new technologies, Ho Chi Minh City ensures international standards of transparency and supervision. This economic design enables Viet Nam to reorganise its reform space to proactively integrate while firmly maintaining operational autonomy.

For over two decades, Viet Nam has pursued a cautious approach to financial policy. It has long been accustomed to approaches based on cautious calculations and institutional safety. This prioritises stability but lagging in adopting new economic models, especially in digital finance, blockchain, controlled sandboxes, and international capital flow standards.

However, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh’s recent directive – “not to seek perfection when implementing the International Financial Centre – act, learn, and adjust” – signals a major shift. It acknowledges a rapidly changing world where laws cannot always keep pace, and adaptation requires learning by doing. This is a new policy mindset, particularly suited to today’s volatile global context. The Prime Minister’s remarks constitute a political declaration of an adaptive “learn-test-adjust” approach, moving away from the traditional “impose-control-punish” mindset. The Prime Minister did not say everything would be done perfectly. On the contrary, he established a new political stance for reform: small missteps may occur, as long as the overall direction remains on course.

In an era where global capital is increasingly sensitive to institutional uncertainty, a financial hub cannot rely solely on geography, skyscrapers, or tax incentives. It must offer a “legal promise” – solid as rock, transparent as data, and dynamic as the financial world itself.

Viet Nam has the opportunity and responsibility to deliver that promise. The International Financial Centre is not an infrastructure project; it is a top-level policy declaration and a commitment: “The rules here will remain unchanged for a long period, unaffected by budgetary pressures or administrative orders.” That is what investors truly seek.

Asserting position in world of super financial centres

Indonesia is building Nusantara, likely to become a new regional financial hub. Dubai (UAE) is expanding sandboxes and discreetly entering ASEAN markets via start-ups, fintech, and digital assets. It has implemented asset tokenisation sandboxes attracting nearly 100 firms and real estate tokenisation projects worth 3 billion USD, alongside fintech, artificial intelligence (AI), and smart city initiatives in the Dubai Sandbox ecosystem and DIFC Innovation Hub.

Hong Kong (China) is deepening ties with Shenzhen through the Qianhai digital finance model. This model aims at mutual financial support policies, promoting the internationalisation of the renminbi, along with mechanisms to foster connectivity in modern finance and digital platforms.

The point is, in a fragmented financial world, no single centre can encompass all functions. Major financial centres are restructuring, including Singapore with the International Financial Centre for asset management and private equity; Dubai with International Financial Centre for fintech, crypto, and Islamic financial services. Hong Kong (China) with the International Financial Centre aligning with mainland China, though losing neutrality; and Shenzhen-Qianhai serving as China’s institutional sandbox.

Mark Yeandle, lead author of the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), noted that the world doesn’t need another international financial centre; it needs a truly new one. If Viet Nam merely adds another “me-too” centre, it will surely lose. It must create a unique model by defining a distinct strategy: an International Financial Centre that is “specialised,” “neutral,” and “connected,” linking Indochina and ASEAN.

With its position, Viet Nam can become a regional trust hub for financial flows for the entire ASEAN region, especially in green finance, intra-regional multi-currency payments, legal asset digitisation, and controlled financial sandboxes. In a world facing a trust deficit, Viet Nam can be an “institutional harbour” where investors experiment with the new without losing the old. In a network of super hubs, simply being the “transit station of financial trust”, Viet Nam will become an indispensable link in the new chain of connectivity. At that point, international capital will naturally flow in.

Viet Nam is located at the heart of ASEAN, close to China, the Republic of Korea, and Japan – Asia’s three largest sources of capital. However, no financial centre can thrive merely by being near major economies. Singapore thrives not on geography but on trust. What Viet Nam lacks is not investors, but a legal framework that guarantees intelligent capital can exist, be protected, and exit honourably.

This is why the International Financial Centre requires a special institutional zone – a national-level Financial Institutional Sandbox (distinct from a fintech sandbox). This jurisdiction, not an administrative boundary, would allow global institutions to transact cross-border assets, issue digitised products like green bonds and tokenised real estate, choose governing law in line with international standards, and be assured that disputes will be resolved by an independent financial court.

The Viet Nam International Financial Centre is the product of a long-term vision, a concrete roadmap, and a high-level political commitment with actions already underway. Viet Nam need not be the busiest place – only a place no one wants to leave; not a market of numerous small trades – only the first high-quality deals that build trust; not glitter – but a legal framework as steadfast as a compass for investors.

Viet Nam is not merely talking about reform; it is writing reform into law. And once the law is written, it is not for declaration but for opening the door to enduring partnerships with all who believe in a transparent, responsible, and sustainable financial future.