10 holding companies join Vietnam International Financial Centre

A holding company's primary business is to hold and manage capital contributions and shares in other companies, manage investment portfolios, and coordinate capital.

These companies have a combined registered charter capital and committed capital contribution of 33.63 million USD. The total capital they expect to mobilize and invest for this year and next year is around 2.7 billion USD.

They will invest in and develop education, infrastructure, maritime, logistics, energy, and fin-tech projects, as well as payment solutions and trading infrastructures. The companies will also help connect capital sources and develop products for the VIFC-HCMC ecosystem.

During a meeting held the same day, Deputy PM Nguyen Van Thang urged the member companies to make VIFC-HCMC operate effectively with its first transactions by November this year.

Richard D. McClellan, CEO of VIFC-HCMC, outlined the Center’s operational direction, saying: "The way we'd done that is we'd designed a system that will allow there to be one door to come into Vietnam and it will allow global capitals to operate on something that is more akin to international standards, rules, and basis."

"So you can use US dollar contracts; you can work in any foreign currencies; you have profit repatriation; you have foreign law contracts for contracts with foreign partners; English language; international financial reporting standards, international arbitrations. All of these elements add up to create a cohesive investor thesis that will allow international investors to operate directly into the domestic system here and to be part of the growth story here," McClellan added.

Operating the VIFC will be a test of Vietnam's ability to translate its advantages into investment opportunities, thereby mobilizing more resources for long-term economic development.