You are using an outdated browser and your browsing experience will not be optimal. Please update to the latest version of Microsoft Edge, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. Install Microsoft Edge

July 2, 2025

Vietnam’s Resolution on International Financial Centers Brings New Opportunities

Subscribe to Updates

On June 27, 2025, Vietnam’s National Assembly adopted a Resolution on International Financial Centers in Vietnam (“IFC Resolution”), which is set to take effect September 1, 2025, putting forward major policy breakthroughs on multiple fronts. The IFC Resolution has the goal of turning Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang into leading international financial centers with autonomy and tools to compete, thereby raising Vietnam’s position in the global financial network, in association with economic growth drivers.

Below are some of the key points of the IFC Resolution, which has notable changes from previous drafts (see our articles on Vietnam’s Draft Resolution on Financial Centers: Implications for Fintech and Banking and Vietnam’s Emerging Regulatory Landscape for Blockchain and Cryptocurrency), including:

  • The removal of the Central Supervisory Agency.
  • The addition of a definition of international financial centers, which are specific geographic areas in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang with members entitled to special policies.
  • The addition of a list of entities eligible for membership, and entitlement to the special policies.

Major Policy Breakthroughs

The IFC Resolution introduces specific policies in the following areas:

  • Liberalization of foreign exchange control for members, including policies such as open foreign exchange use between members and exemption from foreign exchange control procedures for 100% foreign-owned members.
  • Specialized licensing for members to establish and operate single-member limited liability banks and foreign bank branches with the ability to apply accounting standards, debt classification, risk provisions, and prudential ratios according to the owner’s policies.
  • Creation of a capital market for innovative startups, including a crowdfunding mechanism or private placement mechanism through a licensed platform, and development of a green finance market with green certification.
  • Creation of a regulatory sandbox for fintech technologies, products, services, and business models not yet prescribed by law, offering exemption from compliance with standards and technical regulations as well as exemption from liability for damage to the state during experimentation.
  • Tax incentives such as 10% corporate income tax for 30 years for projects in prioritized sectors or 15% for 15 years for projects in other sectors, and exemption from personal income tax until 2030 for the earned income of highly qualified personnel.
  • Immigration policies to attract and keep foreign talent, such as granting visas, temporary resident cards valid for up to 10 years, and permanent resident cards to certain groups (e.g., important investors, experts, managers, and other talents) as well as work permit exemption.
  • Changes to employment, including exemption from requirements for foreign labor demand reporting, market-rate salaries for public servants in the executive agencies and supervisory agencies, and allowing foreign workers to opt into Vietnam’s social insurance and unemployment programs.
  • Priority in allocation and lease of clean land funds and land tenure of up to 70 years for prioritized sectors.
  • Streamlining of administrative procedures for construction and environmental compliance.
  • Supplementing the budgets of Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang from the central budget for 10 years, allowing up to 70% state investment in certain projects, and bypassing bidding procedures for certain infrastructure projects.
  • Allowing members to choose to resolve disputes in various venues, including foreign arbitration, international arbitration, the international arbitration center of the international financial center, arbitration in Vietnam, foreign courts, and Vietnamese courts.
  • Making English or English with Vietnamese translation the official language for transactions and operations.
  • Establishing new trading floors and trading platforms for commodity trading and commodity derivatives, trading of carbon credits, trading in cultural and artistic products, trading in rare metals, trading of green financial products, and transactions and other new types of trading platforms according to development needs.

Products and Services

The products and services to be provided in the international financial centers include stocks, bonds, fund certificates, financial derivatives, fund management, insurance, reinsurance, banking and foreign exchange, green finance, carbon credits, fintech, digital assets, and other products and services prescribed by the government.

Membership

Membership can be obtained through registration or recognition. Members will be granted a separate identification number and will be recorded in the register of members of the international financial centers.

The following entities can apply for registration to be members of the international financial centers:

  • Commercial banks, foreign bank branches, securities companies, and insurance and reinsurance enterprises.
  • Investment and asset management funds.
  • Entities organizing market infrastructure.
  • Fintech and digital asset organizations (this is one of the prioritized sectors under the IFC Resolution).
  • Entities providing consultancy and support services.
  • Non-financial organizations.
  • Other entities as prescribed by the government.

The following qualifying entities can apply to be recognized as members:

  • Financial institutions, investment funds, or enterprises on the Fortune Global 500 list published by Fortune magazine at the time of application, or their direct parent companies, except for organizations operating in the fields of banking, securities, and insurance.
  • Financial institutions belonging to the group of top 10 domestic (Vietnamese) enterprises in terms of charter capital in each respective field, except for banking, securities, and insurance.

Next Steps

The government will promulgate a decree(s) on establishment of the international financial centers, including establishment of their executive agencies, supervisory agencies, and dispute resolution agencies as well as handling of issues that differ from prevailing laws and resolutions of the National Assembly, ordinances and resolutions of the National Assembly Standing Committee. The decree(s) will coexist with innovative regulations that apply nationally, like the Fintech Sandbox Decree (Vietnam Issues Fintech Sandbox Decree) and upcoming crypto regulations (Vietnam’s Emerging Regulatory Landscape for Blockchain and Cryptocurrency).

Interested investors should stay updated on how to apply for membership in international financial centers in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang, particularly those with a focus on products and services which are currently unregulated or subject to stringent regulations preventing foreign investment.

Related Professionals

Industries

Fintech

Practices

Banking and Finance

Location

RELATED INSIGHTS​ 

March 14, 2025
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has published the Draft Guidelines for Digital Fraud Management, which aim to help financial service providers tackle digital fraud and ensure safety and trust in the Thai financial system. These draft guidelines, which are available for public comment until March 18, 2025, provide a comprehensive framework for financial service providers, covering prevention, detection, management, and resolution of digital fraud, as well as support for customers affected by fraud. The BOT tentatively plans to implement these draft guidelines on April 1, 2025, along with circular letters on the minimum required measures for tackling “mule accounts” (deposit or e-money accounts used as tools to receive and transfer funds obtained through the commission of any offense) and measures to strengthen Thailand’s customer due diligence and enhanced due diligence procedures. Under the draft guidelines, “financial service providers” include financial institutions and special financial institutions under the Financial Institution Business Act and payment providers under the Payment Systems Act. Commercial banks, special financial institutions, and operators of transferable e-money services must adhere to every requirement in the draft guidelines. Other financial service providers (e.g., payment providers other than operators of transferable e-money services) can implement the draft guidelines as deemed appropriate to their services, products, and service channels. Digital Fraud Management Requirements The draft guidelines establish the following key requirements: Policy and oversight. Directors and senior executives of financial service providers must set and adopt appropriate “end-to-end” fraud management policies and KPIs to manage digital fraud, covering prevention, monitoring, detection, management, resolution, and support for affected customers. Fraud management processes. Financial service providers must establish a clear framework for managing digital fraud throughout the customer lifecycle, from customer onboarding to service termination, according to industry standards at a minimum and covering at least the following processes: Know your customer
Read More
March 10, 2025
Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will officially add USD Coin (USDC) and Tether (USDT) to its list of approved cryptocurrencies for use in digital asset transactions on March 16, 2025. The addition is a significant move that expands Thailand’s digital asset market, aiming to enhance market flexibility and provide more payment options for investors and traders in Thailand’s digital asset ecosystem. Under the SEC regulations, digital asset operators, including digital token issuers, ICO portals, and digital asset exchanges, are only permitted to accept, conduct transactions with, and use “approved cryptocurrencies” as trading pairs. After the addition of USDC and USDT, the full list of approved cryptocurrencies will include: Bitcoin (BTC) Ethereum (ETH) Ripple (XRP) Stellar (XLM) Tether (USDT) USD Coin (USDC) Other cryptocurrencies used for testing programmable payments under the enhanced regulatory sandbox in accordance with the Bank of Thailand’s rules and conditions. For more information on these new additions, or on any aspect of digital assets and cryptocurrency in Thailand, please contact Kobkit Thienpreecha at [email protected], Pornpan Wichawut at [email protected], Napassorn Lertussavavivat at [email protected], or Rujaporn Paritsantik at [email protected].
Read More
February 24, 2025
On January 31, 2025, the Bank of Thailand (BOT) announced a new Notification re: Responsible Lending, replacing a similar notification from 2023. This new notification provides updated measures to assist debtors in different circumstances and clear implementation guidelines for lenders, with the aim of resolving household debt issues. Scope The service providers covered by the notification include banks and nonbanks (e.g., credit card companies, asset management companies, licensed personal loan providers, and nano finance operators) that conduct lending business. New Requirements The notification’s core focus remains loan management throughout the lifecycle of a loan—from credit product development to legal proceedings and debt transfers to other creditors—but with further clarification and detail compared to the 2023 notification. The key revisions in the new notification are summarized below. Advertising standards: The notification tightens requirements in some areas and relaxes them in others. Stricter requirements: It is now clearly stipulated that the BOT oversees taglines that may encourage excessive borrowing. More examples of noncompliant statements are also added (e.g., “Elevate your lifestyle now, pay later”; “Get approved, even with credit challenges”). In addition, advertising material that contains multiple credit products should provide clear minimum and maximum interest rates, especially when there are significant differences in the interest rates of each product. Relaxed requirements: The required information for some marketing activities is now reduced. For example, in marketing events with staff promoting loan products and offering free giveaways, service providers have the discretion to provide effective interest rate information in the manner they deem appropriate, and the advertisement material can display only the mandatory warning statements without providing interest rate details. Encouraging customer financial discipline: The notification requires service providers to implement more elaborate and extensive tools to influence customer behavior (termed “nudging” by the BOT) at every stage of the lending cycle. This
Read More
February 17, 2025
Thailand’s draft Emergency Decree on Technology Crimes Suppression, which we covered in a client alert in January 2025 primarily addressed to telecom operators and financial institutions, is expected to have significant implications for a wide range of business operators.  The draft emergency decree has already been approved by the cabinet but may undergo further developments as it continues in the legislative process. In this article, we will highlight the material impacts of the draft emergency decree on overseas and local fintech operators. Expanded Definition of “Technology Crimes” The definition of “technology crimes” now includes the following acts of forgery or alteration: Forging or altering the identity of individuals and biometric characteristics by utilizing computer or communication systems or other electronic means to commit offenses. Forging or altering symbols, trademarks, or seals of groups (e.g., foundations, community enterprises) or juristic persons, including acts by juristic persons using individuals or juristic persons as nominal directors or shareholders, regardless of whether such individuals or legal juristic persons reside in Thailand. Forging or altering digital or online platforms, regardless of the platform’s location or legal status. Individuals who conspire, utilize, assist, or support the commission of these offenses will face the same penalties as the principal offender. Business Operator Definition The scope of “business operators” is now expanded to cover various fintech and digital asset operators beyond those under the Payment Systems Act (PSA). The draft emergency decree now includes the following operators, whether they are legally authorized or not: Business operators under the PSA and business operators who operate “as if” they are payment system operators Business operators under the Royal Decree on Digital Asset Businesses or business operators who operate “as if” they are digital asset business operators. Foreign exchange business operators. Disclosure and Exchange of Information Business operators must disclose
Read More