Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance is seeking feedback on a draft decree to establish International Financial Centers (IFCs) in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, each with distinct functions and priorities.

The proposal includes piloting products such as digital assets, digital currency, and fintech innovations. Notably, Fortune 500 companies will be recognized as members without needing to apply.

HCMC IFC – deep financial services and capital concentration

According to the draft, the Ho Chi Minh City IFC will focus on concentrating capital, technology, and talent from major financial institutions, banks, and investment funds. The goal is to form an industry-cluster model offering advanced financial services.

The center will develop the capital market alongside asset and fund management, insurance, financial products, and derivatives; banking and money market services; and a fintech innovation sandbox. It will also establish specialized exchanges, new trading platforms, commodity and derivatives markets, regional supply chain services, logistics, and seaports.

Da Nang IFC – green finance, offshore services, and innovation

The Da Nang IFC will specialize in green finance, trade finance for SMEs, financial services for non-resident organizations and individuals (offshore finance), and cross-border trade linked to free trade zones, high-tech parks, and open economic zones.

It will pilot controlled models for digital assets, digital currency, digital payments, and money transfers, while establishing exchanges and trading platforms. The center will attract investment funds, remittance funds, small and mid-sized asset management firms, and foster startups offering financial solutions for consumption, tourism, trade, logistics, and free trade zone services.

Da Nang’s IFC aims to leverage strategic technologies such as AI, cloud computing, quantum computing, big data, and blockchain. The strategy is to attract global investors, startups, and technology experts by offering a safe, transparent, high-quality living and working environment with strong cultural identity.

Streamlined administration and one-stop services

The draft decree emphasizes minimizing administrative procedures. Membership applications can be submitted online, by post, or in person. Approval will be granted within one working day in the form of temporary membership (valid for up to one month), with final approval within seven days.

Required documents are minimal, including business registration, three years of financial statements, and an operational plan. Fortune 500 companies will be automatically recognized as members. All administrative procedures will be centralized under a “one-stop” model, including licensing for fintech sandbox activities.

MB Bank and Dunamu to launch Vietnam’s first digital asset exchange

In a related development, Military Commercial Joint Stock Bank (MB) signed an MoU with Dunamu, one of South Korea’s largest digital asset companies and operator of the Upbit exchange, to jointly launch Vietnam’s first digital asset trading platform.

Dunamu will provide technology, infrastructure, legal compliance consulting, investor protection measures, and human resource training.

Dunamu CEO Oh Kyoung-suk praised Vietnam’s digital asset market potential, citing over 20 million asset holders and annual transaction volumes exceeding USD 80 billion, placing Vietnam among the world’s top five countries for blockchain capital flows. He said combining this potential with the Upbit model could create not just an exchange, but an entire trusted digital financial infrastructure.

Nguyen Le - Tuan Nguyen