The Swiss-Vietnamese Business Gateway on the 10 October 2023 joined other Overseas Vietnamese’s business associations across continents at a three-hour conference to discuss with the leadership of Ho Chi Minh City ways to make the most from the city’s newly-approved privileges to boost its economy and attract more foreign investments.
Ho Chi Minh City (SVBG) – The hybrid conference was organized by the Overseas Vietnamese Committee of HCMC (OVC) with the participation of the city’s Party Committee (the supreme leadership), People’s Committee (the government), departments of Planning and Investment (DPI), Science and Technology (DoST), as well as representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Some two dozen Vietnamese business associations in Australia, China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, UK, US… and about 100 entrepreneurs joined the gathering.
SVBG representative attending the conference in Ho Chi Minh was Mr. LUONG Van My Thien, Honorary President and Chief Advisor, while President NGUYEN Thi Thuc and Head of Secretariat NGUYEN Xuan Huong Mai were joining virtually.
Speaking at the conference, Mr. NGUYEN Ho Hai, Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee appreciated the contributions of the Overseas Vietnamese community, which counts some 6 million people in 130 countries, in the city’s socio-economic development and its relations with foreign localities.
He called on the community to continue to support the city in the implementation of Resolution 98.
On the 24 June 2023, the Vietnam’s National Assembly (the unicameral Parliament) approved Resolution 98/2023/QH15 on the pilot implementation of special mechanisms and policies for the development of HCMC.
The Resolution, which took effect from 01 August 2023, sets out several breakthrough mechanisms for the development of HCMC on a wide variety of aspects.
In total, there are 44 mechanisms are stipulated covering 7 fields including (i) investment management; (ii) public finance and budget; (iii) urban and natural resources and environment management; (iv) attracting strategic investors; (v) science and technology management and innovation; (vi) organizational structure of HCMC; and (vii) organizational structure of the city’s Thu Duc City.
It is expected that the mechanisms, if implemented properly in practice, will “unleash” HCMC and its development in the future.
Representing the city’s executive power, members of the DoST and the DPI presented the privileged regulatory provisions given to their respective fields through Resolution 98 and projects their departments are calling for investment.
Members of the Overseas Vietnamese community attending the conference suggested to HCMC several measures to materialize the advantages of those mechanisms, and offered relevant collaboration and assistance for each specific program and project.
SVBG President NGUYEN Thi Thuc identified a number of resources from Switzerland that HCMC can reach out to while realizing its objectives.
Ms. NGUYEN, also known as Thuc Minh, confirmed her association’s willingness to act as a bridge connecting the city’s initiatives and projects with potential partners in Switzerland.
In the meantime, a mega project with Swiss investment is expected to benefit from Resolution 98.
That is the development of an international transshipment port in Ho Chi Minh City’s Can Gio district which is jointly proposed by the Vietnam Maritime Corporation and Geneva-based Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and its subsidiary Terminal International Limited (TiL).
Construction of the port is planned to start in 2024. SVBG