VIFC investment conference focuses on unlocking capital flows

The Vietnam International Financial Centre (VIFC) conference in Ho Chi Minh City on August 11 centered on investment prospects, regional capital movements, and strategies to convert pledges into tangible capital influx. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan, VIFC's vice chairman, deliberated on investor prospects. According to Huan, Vietnam is embarking on a new developmental era with significant demand for long-term capital for infrastructure, urban growth, energy, environmental sustainability, and digital overhaul.

In the first half of 2026, Vietnam's GDP surged by 8.18 percent, while Ho Chi Minh City's economy expanded by 8.55 percent. Huan underscored the VIFC's challenge: to facilitate smoother and more cost-effective international capital inflow via diverse financial products and a trustworthy ecosystem for international investors. He emphasized VIFC's role as a regional financial network hub, leveraging Vietnam's distinct advantages as a financial gateway to a population of over 100 million, marked by robust growth, substantial investment needs, and deepening integration into global value chains, especially financial ones.

Pham Quang Nhat, the director of the Investment and Trade Promotion Centre of Ho Chi Minh City, highlighted the city's allure for foreign investors, citing figures from July where foreign direct investment (FDI) had risen to over $9.8 billion, a 144.5 percent year-on-year increase. Notably, 1,119 instances of capital contributions, share acquisitions, and capital purchases were recorded, resulting in a combined registered capital of nearly $2.74 billion.

Nhat stressed that while the volume of registered capital is crucial, the quality of capital flows, the economy's absorption capacity, and their impact on production, technology, human resources, and enterprise competitiveness are equally vital. Le Trong Hieu, CBRE Vietnam's senior director for Office and Industrial Services, discussed the transformation of Ho Chi Minh City's office market over the past decade.

The total office space surged from about 1 million square meters in 2015 to over 1.7 million square meters, with a notable rise in Grade A buildings meeting international standards. The city's status as the nation's largest economic center, attracting foreign direct investment and multinational corporations, has solidified. Hieu posited that the VIFC's establishment would catalyze the city's office market in the medium to long term, attracting international financial institutions, investment funds, fintech firms, and professional services, thereby fostering a new influx of corporate talent and high-quality professionals, driving demand for internationally standardized office spaces within the VIFC region.