Int’l financial centers to improve Viet Nam’s reputation, attractivity: Swiss Ambassador

In a recent interview with the VGP, the diplomat said, the financial sector in Switzerland plays a crucial role as it accounts for 9.1 percent of Switzerland's GDP, more than 5.2 percent of the employment and 11.6 percent of public sector tax revenue.

Switzerland has two highly competitive international financial centers, one in Zurich and the other in Geneva. In 2024, they were ranked 13th and 17th respectively in the global index that covers 121 major financial centers.

The one in Zurich is mainly strong and has a strong reputation for wealth management, private banking and insurance, while the financial center in Geneva is mainly involved in commodity trading and international finance.

"Both of these centers are supported by strong and robust regulatory frameworks, but also by a commitment of Switzerland to work to make available skills, to make available an environment that is conducive to these financial centers and of course to also make sure that these financial centers uphold values that are important for their functioning", noted the Ambassador.

Regarding the role of international financial centers in Viet Nam, Gass said, they can play an important role and contribute to the objective of becoming a high-income economy by 2045.

They will also help increase investments into Viet Nam, contribute to the nation's GDP and its economic stability, as well as create more jobs.

However, it can only be one of the pillars of such a strategy. With a country of more than 100 million inhabitants, Viet Nam has to and will have other important pillars such as the modernization of its industry and infrastructure and achievement of energy transition, told the diplomat.

Opportunities and challenges for Viet Nam in building financial centers

According to the Ambassador, an international financial center is a hub where global financial institutions and services come together, and typically characterized by a robust legal and regulatory framework.

As a sophisticated financial ecosystem and a concentration of innovative financial services, the international financial centers serve as key nodes in the global financial network, facilitating cross-border financial transactions, attracting international investments, and fostering innovation in financial services.

There is a fierce competition globally amongst international financial centers. This competition revolves around different dimensions.

"I would say the business environment, how easy is it for the finance sector to do its business, human capital, how easy is it for these companies to find suitable skills. Infrastructure is very important. Financial sector development and reputation and the quality of life is also very important. So financial centers need a modern and effective regulatory framework. In Switzerland we have a very strong and robust laws that protect our financial centers, but we also have internal regulations that are conducive to the stability", shared Gass.

Switzerland has an independent oversight or supervisory authority called Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), which is very important to give that trust to the global community.

International financial centers need skills, and the skills tend to go where the environment is attractive. Switzerland puts forward the quality of life, and the quality of the air, but also the quality of the education, health system, and facility. These are important factors if Viet Nam hopes to attract the best talents to its international finance centers.

International financial centers also need values. Swiss government and companies are committed to ensuring that environmental sustainability, and social sustainability, remain part of the values of its international financial centers, he stated.

Switzerland's assistance for developing financial sector in Viet Nam

In terms of Switzerland's assistance for Viet Nam in developing financial centers in the upcoming time, Gass emphasized that Viet Nam is a priority country for Switzerland's economic cooperation and development.

To support Viet Nam's national goal to become a resilient and high-income country by 2045, Swiss cooperation program for Viet Nam will focus on three pillars, including promoting sustainable trade and innovation, fostering sustainable public and private finance, and advancing climate, smart, industrial, and urban development.

In late March, Switzerland launched the second phase of a program to provide better finance to the value chains, a program that in its first phase has already contributed to a better access to half a million small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Viet Nam. Through this program, these 500,000 SMEs have accessed US$33 billion of additional finance.

"Being an international financial center, being trustworthy, doesn't only mean you are providing services to the international community and international companies, you also make sure that your own companies benefit. Switzerland has also been working with Viet Nam for a long time to make the policies more robust for the banking system and for the financial centers", shared the Ambassador.

In particular, Switzerland has supported the modernization of the law on credit institutions and the enhancement of the capacity of banking executives.

Switzerland has been working with the commercial banks and has trained over 230 senior banking executives in Viet Nam, providing them 18-month courses to hone their skills, to learn, to understand the modern financial environment and banking environment better.

Currently, Switzerland is also working closely with the State Bank of Viet Nam on digitalization of finance and fintech, and help to make finance services more sustainable as well as foster collaboration with the People's Committee of Da Nang City to provide them support and advice, told the diplomat. 

The Government plans to establish and put two financial centers into operation in 2025.

The move aims to realize the Politburo's conclusion on building regional and international financial centers in Da Nang City and Ho Chi Minh City, the Government said in a plan released on Saturday.

The Government tasked the Municipal People's Committees of Ho Chi Minh City and Da Nang City to work closely with relevant agencies to achieve the above goal./.