Financial center a new boost for Ho Chi Minh City: CanCham director

With 29 years of residence in Ho Chi Minh City, Hurst shared her impressions with Tuoi Tre News, expressing her amazement at the city’s rapid development.

Hurst also offered insights from the perspective of Canadian companies, outlining strategies for the city to better support foreign investors and boost its economic performance.

How do Canadian businesses currently assess the investment environment in Ho Chi Minh City? And how do they compare it with other Southeast Asian cities?

Canadian companies find Vietnam a very dynamic economy. There are a lot of opportunities in terms of location. It's very well located and accessible to other countries in the region.

Also, Vietnam has an emerging middle-income population, the structure is changing, and there is a lot of youth talent they can access. That makes it a very good option within the Southeast Asian region.

I recently attended a seminar about the launch of the International Financial Center (IFC). Everything shared in the planning gives more opportunities for Canadian expertise to enter Vietnam and really promote bilateral ties, not just giving but a two-way relationship that can support Vietnam in developing the IFC and making it an attractive financial hub in the region.

The vision is to provide more green infrastructure, digitalize information and access to administrative processes. On top of that, Canada’s high-tech expertise is something we can pursue to help Vietnam reach its goals, especially with the goal of net zero by 2050.

CanCham now is creating an outreach strategy, so we’re actually going out to Canadian firms and companies and working with each Canadian province to say: “Hey, Vietnam is a great option for you, and here's why.” The IFC will support that as well.

What are the most common barriers and concerns you’ve heard from Canadian businesses? Red tape or visa problems?

From the Canadian perspective, investors are waiting for transparency, for easier access to information.

Many Canadian companies coming to CanCham are looking for more information about processes and understanding how to start up their businesses. They feel that regulations can change and vary a lot, and it’s complex. They're unfamiliar with the legal process if they just look online.

So, CanCham provides better resources. Among our membership platforms, we have a lot of experts. We support and provide them with informative sessions. We work closely with the Investment & Trade Promotion Centre of Ho Chi Minh City for updates.

From your perspective, what are Vietnam’s unique selling points?

From a communications and marketing perspective, Vietnam’s first unique selling point (USP) is adaptability. Because every year I feel Ho Chi Minh City is a different place, but then every five years it’s a completely different place.

I have seen it with my own eyes. My neighborhood before was all rice fields. Many foreigners started in Thao Dien [now part of An Khanh Ward], which is why it became a foreigner hub, but half of the area was just rice fields.

Everyone wore pajamas, kept their money in their pockets with a rubber band.

That’s how I remember Vietnam, or Ho Chi Minh City, being. It’s amazing to see the incredible development that has happened and is still happening.

Now, Vietnam is positioning itself as a financial hub, competing with countries like Singapore and Malaysia. It makes me proud to be part of that change, and I’m excited to see where it will go.