On the afternoon of November 27, at the Ho Chi Minh City Innovative Startup Center, the International Conference “Technological Breakthrough and Innovation – Creating the Future Generation for Ho Chi Minh City” took place with the focus “Ho Chi Minh City International Finance Center – A new pulse in the APEC financial ecosystem”.

This is one of the outstanding events within the framework of the Ho Chi Minh City Innovation, Science and Technology and Creative Startup Week (WISE HCMC⁺ 2025).

Attending the conference were Mr. Duong Anh Duc, Member of the Standing Committee of the City Party Committee, Head of the Propaganda and People’s Mobilization Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Committee; Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City Lam Dinh Thang, representatives of the city’s departments, financial experts, representatives of multinational corporations and hundreds of enterprises in the fields of science, high technology and innovation.

Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City Lam Dinh Thang spoke at the conference. Photo: QUANG HUY

4 problems that need to be solved

Speaking at the conference, Director of the Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City Lam Dinh Thang emphasized the pioneering role of Ho Chi Minh City in the national startup ecosystem. Currently, the city attracts nearly 50% of the total number of startups in the country and is home to 3 of Vietnam’s 4 technology unicorns. The city’s innovative startup ecosystem (KNST) holds the 110th position globally in 2025 according to a report by Startup Blink. The city aims to develop breakthroughs and reach the international level by creating NextGen, an intergenerational ecosystem that combines the creativity of young people with the experience of experts. This synergy will help master technology, create new value that is sustainable, humane and inclusive, ensuring that no one is left behind in the development process.

The Director of the Department of Science and Technology hopes that experts will discuss and come up with breakthrough initiatives for 4 issues: First, the model of creating future generation ecosystems. How can Ho Chi Minh City effectively transition from an outsourcing-based economic model to a model that focuses on intellectual property (IP) development and innovation research economy, and build policies that are strong enough to attract and retain talented NextGen human resources in the era of global competition.

The 2nd problem is the breakthrough of digital assets for the International Financial Center (IFC). In the context of IFC’s development in the 2026-2030 period, what management, supervision and legal framework are necessary to make Digital Assets a breakthrough factor to help IFC Ho Chi Minh City overcome the “gray zone” and achieve a global position in terms of transparency and sustainability.

The 3rd issue is the establishment of the Fintech Super Speed. Policy steps, technology platforms and intergovernmental cooperation (especially between Vietnam and Singapore) are needed to build a true “Fintech Super Highway” that not only facilitates capital but also cross-border technology and innovation flows.

The 4th issue is governance and capital for IFC. To build the 3 core pillars of IFC Ho Chi Minh City (governance, capital and banking cooperation), how to optimize the operation of capital from venture capital funds and strengthen risk management in the field of financial technology.

Comrade Lam Dinh Thang believes that insightful comments from international experts will be an important basis for Ho Chi Minh City to improve policies, open up new cooperation opportunities to help the city play a strategic driving role, towards becoming an “international megacity” of Southeast Asia – a smart city, green and creative.

Ms. Jade Koh presented the presentation. Photo: QUANG HUY

Building a dynamic startup ecosystem

Presenting a speech at the conference, Ms. Jade Koh, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), affirmed that Vietnam in general and Ho Chi Minh City in particular are facing the opportunity to develop a strong digital economy. It is expected that Southeast Asian member countries will sign the Framework Agreement on the digital economy by 2026, with the potential to grow the region’s digital economy to $2,000 billion by 2030.

Sharing Singapore’s experience in the innovation ecosystem, Ms. Jade Koh emphasized that Singapore has built a successful innovation ecosystem by boldly transitioning to an economic model based on technology and knowledge services, instead of relying on labor and skills. The country invests heavily in R&D (research and development) with 1% of GDP on innovative research, while building a workforce of technology experts to promote the digital economy. In addition, Singapore has also initiated the Singapore-Vietnam Innovation Talent Exchange Program to support the training of high-quality human resources.

“Ho Chi Minh City needs to invest resources in research, because R&D and innovation are important factors in economic development,” Ms. Jade Koh suggested.

Expert Daniel Theobald presented a presentation at the conference. Photo: QUANG HUY

On the other hand, expert Daniel Theobald, founder and CEO of Vecna Robotics (USA), thanked Ho Chi Minh City for creating a timely discussion forum on the topic “Technological breakthroughs and innovation – Creating future generations for Ho Chi Minh City”. This expert said that the US startup model is suitable for Ho Chi Minh City to study, but needs to be adjusted in accordance with the actual context.

The city needs to focus on principles such as fostering creative and innovative thinking, developing high-quality human resources, building a favorable business environment, investing in R&D, and leveraging technology to transform from outsourcing to intellectual property. Encourage entrepreneurship but focus on building a dynamic start-up ecosystem, and at the same time create practical support policies and promote international linkages. Next is to build an effective bridge between universities and businesses to create human resources and technology products to serve market needs.

At the conference, many experts emphasized that Ho Chi Minh City needs a stronger breakthrough policy to attract international investment for the startup ecosystem. Attracting resources is a prerequisite for success in the goal of breakthrough development and reaching out to the international level by creating the Future Generation.

MSc Nguyen Truc Van, Director of the Center for Socio-Economic Simulation and Forecasting (2nd from left). Photo: QUANG HUY

MSc Nguyen Truc Van, Director of the Center for Socio-Economic Simulation and Forecasting of the Ho Chi Minh City Institute for Development Studies (HIDS), said that the National Assembly’s Resolution 222/2025/QH15 and the Government’s Resolution 05/2025/NQ-CP are ushering in a digital financial era for Ho Chi Minh City. Resolution 222 is an important framework document, with the goal of building the IFC Vietnam model located in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang. This model aims to promote sustainable finance, operate according to international standards, attract high-quality human resources and balance the interests of the State, investors and people. Currently, Ho Chi Minh City has established a Steering Committee, developed a plan to develop the financial center space and prepared an operating framework. It is expected that the International Financial Center of Ho Chi Minh City will have an area of 899 hectares.