HCM City (VNS/VNA) – Ho Chi Minh City has committedto develop a detailed plan to turn the city into a regional and internationalfinancial hub after years of delay in carrying out the ambitious goal.

Nguyen Thien Nhan, Secretary of the city’s Party Committee,said: “There’s no better time to do it now.”

As an international financial hub, HCM City, whichcontributes 45 percent to the country’s GDP, would enhance socio-economicgrowth locally, nationally and regionally, he added.

Speaking at a meeting on July 17, Nhan said a feasibilityreport on the plan would be submitted to the People’s Council in October.

By June 2020, the city is expected to start building afinancial centre complex in the The Thiem new urban area in district 2.

The city will also report to the Prime Minister by the endof the year on a special incentive policy for the project.

Dr. Vu Thanh Tu Anh, of Fulbright University Vietnam, saidthe city must have a complete financial ecosystem that meets internationalstandards.

“The international financial centre should conductcross-border financial transactions and have diverse financial products,” henoted.

Anh, who is a member of the Prime Minister’s economicadvisory group, said that HCM City’s location is ideal for an internationalfinancial hub.

“The city accounts for only 9.36 percent of the country'spopulation and 0.6 percent of the country’s total area, but it contributes 14 percentto the country’s export value and 27 percent to State revenue.”

It also accounts for 14.1 percent of the country’s total foreigninvestment, said Anh, adding that the city, however, is still not listed amongglobal financial centres.

Economist Tran Du Lich said that HCM City should receiveassistance from the Government and should not be expected to shoulder theburden alone.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, Chairman of the municipal People’sCommittee, said a long-term strategy was needed to attract major investors,enterprises and financial institutions to develop the plan.

To develop the plan, the city recently assigned the HCM CityFinancial Investment Company to work with Fulbright University Vietnam toconduct a survey of major financial centres around the world.

Phong said new policies were seriously needed, includingmeasures to address the lack of high-skilled human resources.

In 2001, the city included the finance sector as one of thecity’s nine key services. The sector has had an annual growth rate of 8.8 percentand accounts for 5.7 percent of the city’s gross regional domestic product(GRDP).

The city recently solicited investment to build the 4.9trillion VND (210 million USD) financial, banking and trade centre, which isexpected to cover 14,500sq.m, according to the Department of Planning andInvestment.-VNS/VNA