Da Nang Chairs Viet Nam – U.S. Finance and Technology Seminar in San Francisco: Creating a Foundation for an International Financial Center with Superior Incentives and a Global Vision

Opening the seminar, Mr. Ho Ky Minh, Standing Vice Chairman of the Da Nang City People’s Committee and Chairman of the Da Nang VIFC Executive Agency, emphasized Da Nang's increasingly affirmed position as a safe, attractive, and high-potential investment destination. The city has consistently maintained its leading national position for many years in the Information Technology Readiness and Development Index, while also being honored across all three pillars of the "Smart City" designation. On this foundation, Da Nang is oriented toward developing into a modern, smart, ecological urban area and an Asian innovation hub during the 2030–2045 period, centered on the three strategic pillars of the marine economy, high-tech industry, and high-quality tourism and services.
 

To realize this vision, the city is aggressively implementing and calling for investment in leading infrastructure projects such as upgrading Chu Lai International Airport to 4F standards, developing an urban railway system, and piloting Viet Nam’s first Free Trade Zone model. Within the overall strategy of sustainable development, the Viet Nam International Financial Center in Da Nang City is identified as the financial nucleus, the institutional platform, and the channel for directing investment capital, playing a key role in actualizing the city’s development aspirations.

Accordingly, the Viet Nam International Financial Center in Da Nang City is oriented to operate under a controlled sandbox mechanism for new financial models ranging from digital assets, digital currencies, and digital payments to blockchain and artificial intelligence applications. Da Nang aims to establish a digital financial testing and trading center by 2030 that holds an important position in the Asia-Pacific regional financial center network, while simultaneously developing green financial solutions and next-generation supply chain financing and promoting the digitization of assets. Da Nang converges all the necessary conditions to develop a modern financial center: a strategic geoeconomic position with convenient global and regional connectivity; synchronized and modern technical infrastructure; a high-quality international-standard living environment; and a young, dynamic workforce capable of rapid adaptation to the requirements of the digital era.

In his welcoming and strategic orientation speech at the seminar, Standing Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh emphasized Viet Nam's vision in its new development phase: building a modern, transparent International Financial Center that is deeply connected to the global financial system. The presence of leading U.S. corporations and financial institutions not only demonstrates confidence in the Vietnamese market but also opens opportunities for mutual exchange, design, and participation in creating a next-generation financial center in a dynamic, creative, and ambitious country like Viet Nam.

In the context of the strongly developing and increasingly substantive Viet Nam–U.S. Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, cooperation in the fields of finance and high technology is assessed to have significant potential. From a nation that suffered heavy losses after the war, Viet Nam has risen to become a dynamic economy with a high global ranking, maintaining macroeconomic stability, impressive growth, and deep international integration. With a population of approximately 100 million people and a young, dynamic, and tech-passionate workforce, Viet Nam is considered a suitable destination for long-term investment decisions and breakthrough initiatives.
 

Standing Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh delivered a welcome address and outlined strategic directions at the symposium

Responding to the requirements of the acceleration phase, the Viet Nam International Financial Center is built according to the "one center, two destinations" model, in which Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang do not compete but rather complement and closely link with each other to form a comprehensive financial ecosystem. While Ho Chi Minh City plays the role of a traditional capital market center, Da Nang is positioned as a hub for digital finance, fintech, and innovation, maximizing advantages in technology, infrastructure, living environment, and the ability to implement flexible experimental mechanisms.

Presenting at the seminar, Mr. Oscar Njuguna, Head of Membership of the Executive Agency of Viet Nam International Financial Center  in Da Nang City, clearly outlined the superior preferential mechanisms and policies specifically designed for the Financial Center, aiming for institutional breakthroughs, ensuring investment environment transparency, maintaining macroeconomic stability, and especially providing full protection for the legal rights and interests of foreign investors. This serves as the vital foundation for building trust and attracting high-quality capital flows in the long term.

At the Open Discussion Session within the seminar, participants agreed that in the 21st century, finance cannot be separated from technology; technology is not merely a supporting tool but an element that shapes, leads, and amplifies the power of financial resources. Viet Nam clearly recognizes that technology always evolves faster than legal frameworks; therefore, it is proactively perfecting the legal corridor for core sectors such as artificial intelligence, big data, blockchain, semiconductors, and digital infrastructure, while promoting new financial models that balance innovation and risk control.

In this process, establishing direct bridges of cooperation with the innovation ecosystem in San Francisco and Silicon Valley is identified as a key factor. The Viet Nam International Financial Center is positioned as both a "policy laboratory" and a "launchpad" for technological ideas, where investment funds, enterprises, and technology platforms can develop next-generation financial products such as digital assets, blockchain, artificial intelligence, green finance, and carbon credits.
 

U.S. businesses attending the seminar also offered many specific proposals to develop key financial products, perfect incentive mechanisms, and create favorable conditions for investment activities at the Center. Representatives of Vietnamese ministries and sectors directly discussed and frankly answered issues of concern to businesses, demonstrating a spirit of partnership, transparency, and receptiveness in the policy-making process.

Concluding the seminar, Da Nang city leadership affirmed the strong commitment of Viet Nam in general and Da Nang in particular to creating the most favorable and globally competitive business environment through the application of superior incentives, institutional reform, transparency, and the maintenance of macroeconomic stability. Da Nang does not only aim to attract investment but also desires to become a reliable partner, ready to accompany businesses in sharing risks, co-creating new values, and working toward common prosperity.
 

Delegates attending the symposium took a commemorative photo
 

The seminar in San Francisco was not merely an investment promotion event but also laid the foundation for long-term cooperative relationships in the fields of finance, banking, and fintech between U.S. partners and the Viet Nam International Financial Center in Da Nang City. The Viet Nam International Financial Center in Da Nang City is expected to become a dynamic and reliable destination, contributing to the creation of a foundation for a new era of cooperation and development between Viet Nam and the United States./.