Singapore serves as a close example for HCMC. Within 30 years, the island nation with no natural resources has become a regional financial hub with the headquarters of many international companies and the transport and telecoms infrastructure able to meet the development demand. The special mechanism, together with the preservation of Vietnamese cultural identity and the “oriental features” over the course of development, would help turn HCMC into an attractive, unique metropolis. The National Assembly’s Resolution 98/2023 on the development of HCMC covers 44 policies and mechanisms for seven areas, but they should focus on three economic pillars, including business and trade development (starting from 2023), turning the city into an electronic component and semiconductor factory (in 2027), and establishing and developing the HCMC Foreign Exchange Center in 2025, gearing towards the HCMC Financial Center in 2030. Mobilizing State capital from tax and non-tax income sources for the city’s development and seeking other financial sources for projects, whether State or private, is the prime matter for achieving the development target. That is the reason for the need to build a financial center in HCMC, though the special mechanism does not mention this area as an investment priority, and the city […]