Ant International, Ho Chi Minh City plan to build fintech hub

Ho Chi Minh City is seeking deeper cooperation with the World Economic Forum and Ant International to boost innovation and develop its international finance ambitions, city chairman Nguyễn Văn Được said on November 25.

Chairman Nguyễn Văn Được met with WEF managing director Stephan Mergenthaler and Ant International CEO Yang Peng during the city’s Autumn Economic Forum.

Discussions with Ant International, a Singapore-based fintech group, covered collaboration on fintech development, policy advice, regulatory recommendations, training high-quality human resources, and building a fintech hub.

The city also pledged support for Ant International’s growth with investment incentives and infrastructure.

Ant International is developing a digital payment services R&D center in HCM City, has hired engineers, and plans further investment.

The city’s leader highlighted the Centre for Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), part of WEF’s network, as a key platform for promoting innovation.

WEF and C4IR are scheduled to announce new activities and discuss priorities for the next phase.

🔗 Source: Vietnam News

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Vietnam’s fintech sandbox is live but cross-border testing remains off-limits

Vietnam’s fintech sandbox is a regulator-run program for controlled trials with real users for up to two years, and it became operational on July 1, 2025 1. It covers credit scoring, open application programming interface (API) data sharing, and peer-to-peer (P2P) lending 1.
State Bank of Vietnam (the central bank) issues a Certificate of Participation before testing, with approvals routed through ministries 2. Ant International’s research and development (R&D) center cannot pilot cross-border payments in the sandbox.
Cross-border testing is banned 2, and that limits Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) since international payment flows cannot be piloted. Sandbox rules exclude digital asset trading (such as cryptocurrency), robo-advisory (automated investment advice), and insurtech (insurance technology) 2.

Tax holidays and talent visas under Vietnam’s Digital Technology Industry Law

Firms that set up in government-designated digital technology zones may get corporate income tax breaks, and spending on research facilities is tax-deductible under the Digital Technology Industry Law effective January 1, 2026 3.
Foreign experts in digital technology fields get a faster work permit process, five-year visas, and personal income tax incentives when in priority areas 3. That eases hiring for R&D centers like Ant International’s, which need specialized engineers Vietnam may lack today.
Digital technology zones offer lower land rents, and some projects may receive land rent exemptions or reductions 3. Companies should check whether their plans qualify under the Digital Technology Industry Law to tap these benefits when setting up Vietnamese R&D sites.