UK supports regional financial-business center development in Vietnam

TheCityUK, an industry-led body representing UK-based financial and related professional services, has been appointed by the British government to support Vietnam’s ambitions of developing a regional financial and business center in Ho Chi Minh City.

In partnership with the UK Government, TheCityUK will provide technical support to help create a business and regulatory environment in Vietnam that is attractive to global investors and to further strengthen bilateral ties between the UK and Vietnam.

TheCityUK champions and supports the success of the ecosystem and thereby its members, promoting policies in the UK, across Europe and internationally that drive competitiveness, support job creation and ensure long-term economic growth.

As a high-growth emerging market, Vietnam’s dynamic economy, ambition, and vision to become a high-income country by 2045 and commitment to transitioning to net zero offers great potential for UK-based financial and related professional services firms.

This project will see TheCityUK working alongside the British government to bring together regulators and firms across the industry in both the UK and Vietnam to share best practice and develop recommendations that will support Vietnam’s long-term sustainable growth and attract UK and international investors. The collaboration underlines the deep partnership between the two countries which are currently celebrating 50 years of diplomatic relations.

“Supporting the development of Ho Chi Minh City as a regional financial and business centre is another example of the strong bilateral relations between the UK and Vietnam. Vietnam is a high-growth, dynamic market and by working collaboratively on this important project and sharing UK expertise on a sector where it has clear global market strength, we hope to align our mutual policypriorities and support long-term sustainable growth across the country,” said British Ambassador to Vietnam Iain Frew.

Miles Celic, CEO, TheCityUK, said: “We are delighted to work in collaboration with the UK Government and British Embassy in Hanoi to support the development of Vietnam’s regional financial and business centre in Ho Chi MinhCity. Vietnam is a hugely exciting country with a compelling story for growth and prosperity. Given the country’s rapid development and increased demand for sophisticated financial products, there is great potential for British firms and other international investors to enter the market.”

“Ensuring robust regulatory, policy and legal frameworks and an open business environment will be essential to its success. As one of the world’s leading international financial centres, the UK is well placed to support Vietnam’s ambitions and provide technical expertise. There will also be mutual benefits gained through the sharing expertise in key areas such as green finance, innovation and digital transformation and the net-zero transition,” he added.

Developing HCMC into a financial-business center is part of the Party Central Committee's Resolution 31-NQ/TW on the city's growth targets until 2030, with vision to 2045.

The city has already made a draft plan on the task, said Phan Thi Thang, former Vice Chairwoman of HCMC and now Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade. Until 2025, HCMC, home to headquarters and representative offices of over 30 domestic banks and 50 foreign lenders, funds, and financial organizations, aims to reinforce its status as the national financial center and upgrade from a secondary international financial center into an international one in the Global Financial Centres Index (GFCI), she said.

In 2026-2030, the southern economic hub eyes to become a highly-ranked financial center in Asia and develop the financial-commercial complex in HCMC's Thu Thiem city into a fintech hub featuring transnational transactions.

From 2031, the southern metropolis plans to become a high-rank global financial center with District 1 and Thu Thiem city as its financial hubs.