Ho Chi Minh City launches maritime finance ecosystem to retain shipping capital flows in Vietnam

The initiative was unveiled at a forum jointly organized by the Ho Chi Minh City branch of the Vietnam International Financial Center (VIFC-HCMC), logistics firm Gemadept, and the city’s Institute for Development Studies.

It is expected to become one of four strategic pillars of the planned international financial center in the southern commercial hub.

According to Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Huu Huan - vice chairman of VIFC-HCMC, the southern port system handles more than US$1 trillion worth of cargo, logistics, and related services each year.

However, most high-value maritime financial activities such as trade finance, ship financing, marine insurance, and international payments are still processed abroad.

Nguyen Cong Vinh, deputy chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, said the city and the Cai Mep-Thi Vai port cluster were emerging as major logistics and maritime hubs in Southeast Asia.

That growth is supported by strategic infrastructure projects that are helping Vietnam integrate more deeply into global supply chains.

However, Vietnam currently participates mainly in cargo flows, while higher value-added maritime financial services continue to be handled outside the country, he said.

“To develop a sustainable maritime economy and strengthen national competitiveness, Vietnam needs to gradually build a complete maritime financial ecosystem where capital flows, financial services, and logistics activities are closely connected,” Vinh said at the forum.

Huan said Vietnam currently retained only about four percent to (thiếu con số) percent of maritime financial transaction value domestically.

He cited cargo shipments exported to Europe through Cai Mep-Thi Vai port, where loading operations take place in Vietnam but related services such as cargo insurance, international payments, and vessel leasing are often handled through foreign financial institutions from Singapore, Hong Kong, and London.

The new international maritime finance ecosystem initiative aims to reverse that trend by connecting shipping, logistics, and international trade directly with Vietnam’s domestic financial system.

“If ports such as Can Gio or Cai Mep-Thi Vai are hubs for cargo flows, then the Ho Chi Minh City international financial center must become a hub for capital flows serving Vietnam’s maritime economy,” Huan said.

According to him, the ecosystem will focus on maritime financial infrastructure, regulatory sandbox mechanisms, and international support services including maritime arbitration, environmental, social and governance standards, and green finance.

The sandbox framework would allow pilot programs involving electronic bills of lading and blockchain applications in maritime payments and insurance before broader deployment.

Pham Quoc Long, deputy chief executive of Gemadept, said Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City had favorable conditions to become a new maritime and financial center in the region.

However, he added that bottlenecks in infrastructure connectivity, specialized financial services, workforce development, and ecosystem coordination still needed to be addressed.