Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Văn Thắng chairs the third meeting of the Việt Nam International Financial Centre's executive council. — VNA/VNS Photo Xuân Tùng

HÀ NỘI — Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Văn Thắng on Monday asked the Việt Nam International Financial Centre (VIFC) to have concrete financial products and investment deals in place by November.

Charing the third meeting of the VIFC’s executive council, Deputy PM Thắng urged regulators in HCM City and Đà Nẵng to work directly with investment funds and businesses to turn viable proposals into transactions.

He called for work to be accelerated on projects while regulatory frameworks, organisational structures and human resources are developed in parallel to ensure the centre can operate fully.

“By November, the two operating agencies must have concrete products and deals,” Thắng said.

The VIFC is being established in HCM City and Đà Nẵng under a unified national model, with a central executive council, operating agencies in the two cities and a joint supervisory agency.

The institutional and organisational framework for the VIFC has largely been established, Deputy Minister of Finance Nguyễn Thị Bích Ngọc told the meeting.

To date, several banks, securities firms, asset management companies and investors have signed memorandums of understanding, commitments or submitted applications, she said.

The finance ministry said the centre’s competitive positioning should draw on Việt Nam’s economic scale and growth prospects, its role in production, trade and logistics chains, and rising demand for medium- and long-term capital for infrastructure, energy and the green transition.

The ministry has proposed six groups of products and services, including investment funds and asset management, asset-backed digital assets, international carbon credits, commodity and derivatives trading linked to trade and supply chain finance, fintech, and bonds issued through the centre.

The products are at different stages of readiness and will therefore be introduced in phases rather than simultaneously, she said.

Initially, the ministry plans to focus on selecting energy, infrastructure, logistics and green-transition projects to be backed by partner banks and strategic investors, developing an international investment fund and asset management ecosystem, and building commodity markets linked to trade and supply chain finance.

The ministry also proposed maintaining the centre under its current unified model while standardising service standards, procedures, data and coordination mechanisms between HCM City and Đà Nẵng to prevent the emergence of two separate markets.

Twenty-nine tasks have been identified for developing detailed guidance for the VIFC. The central executive council will issue guidance on three banking-related areas, while the operating agencies in the two cities will provide detailed guidance on 26 other areas.

The HCM City said it is shifting from the development phase to operation focusing on four pillars, including institutions, membership, products and infrastructure.

Of seven procedures that need to be issued, the membership procedure was completed in August, while the remaining six are expected to be completed in September and October.

The city is also screening prospective members to focus on organisations linked to specific products and real-economy projects rather than expanding membership broadly. It expects around 7 to 12 members to be licensed between now and early 2027.

The city has prepared a pipeline of more than 21 projects and plans to select 5 to 7 with the highest feasibility to promote with strategic investors. It is also working with investors to mobilise capital for infrastructure projects and preparing for international and municipal bond issuance.

Đà Nẵng, meanwhile, is focusing on developing a number of specific projects.

The two operating agencies are coordinating on procedures, membership criteria and the necessary legal framework, while maintaining the principle that VIFC is a single entity that leverages the strengths of both cities. — VNS