A corner of HCM City, where the IFC will be located. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed six types of commodity exchanges to be operated at the IFC. — VNA/VNS Photo Hồng Đạt

HÀ NỘI — The Ministry of Industry and Trade has proposed six types of commodity exchanges to be operated at the planned International Financial Centre (IFC) which would cover both traditional goods markets and emerging financial and commercial products.

This proposal was part of a draft Government decree on imports and exports and distribution and operation of commodity exchanges at the IFC, which has recently been made public for comments.

A commodity and commodity derivatives exchange will be the core of the system, where physical goods — such as metals and farm produce — will be traded.

Another exchange will be for carbon credits, which will facilitate their trade with transparent measurements, reporting and verification mechanisms.

There will also be exchanges for cultural and art products, where items will be listed with verified origins, cross-checked with domestic and international cultural asset databases.

An exchange for rare and precious metals will require origin verification and measures to prevent money laundering and smuggling.

Finally, a proposed exchange for green financial products will only list those meeting environmental criteria issued by the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment, with independent audit reports on their green status.

The ministry also proposed a specialised new digital trading platform that will be a sandbox for innovative models, such as tokenised commodities and decentralised platforms. Every exchange must meet requirements in terms of data security and operational safety before official operation.

The draft decree proposes that exchanges follow the International Organisation of Securities Commissions principles to ensure transparency, prevent manipulation, protect investors and allow connectivity with overseas exchanges.

A special customs mechanism for imported and exported products is also included in the draft decree. The mechanism would see a maximum clearance time of eight hours, the use of AI and blockchain technology in declarations, and exemption from specialised inspections except for certain cases.

Việt Nam has planned to launch the IFC with locations in HCM City and Đà Nẵng by the end of the year. — VNS