Within the framework of their working trip in Singapore, Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Quang and the delegation of the city’s officials had a working session with the Bank of Singapore on Monday.

Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Quang (right) and leader of the Bank of Singapore. Photo: Working group

At the meeting, representatives of the Bank of Singapore - one of the leading financial institutions providing asset management services for high net worth individuals and families across Asia and the world, expressed their interest in building the Da Nang Financial Centre. Among the three pillars for developing the financial centre, the bank highly appreciated the idea of ​​turning Da Nang into a regional gateway for global financial services.

The bank representatives emphasised that if the city can attract businesses to invest, financial institutions will also follow this flow.

Also at the meeting, the two sides discussed the importance of preparing hard and soft infrastructure to serve the development of the financial centre, including the transportation system connecting the free trade zone, expanding the international airport, and upgrading the international seaport.

In particular, Da Nang is ranked as one of the smart cities in Asia thanks to its digital transformation strategy, its investment in data centres, the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and the development of a submarine cable system. These are important factors to draw much attention from major financial institutions in the world.

In addition, the representative of the Bank of Singapore underlined the necessity for Viet Nam to develop green finance with a focus on having a roadmap to modernise and green the infrastructure, and at the same time introducing support policies for sustainable financial development.

Da Nang also emphasised its green development orientation, with the recent groundbreaking of a green-standard Hoa Ninh Industrial Park, demonstrating the city's commitment to a sustainable growth model.

Da Nang Party Committee Secretary Nguyen Van Quang (right) and leader of the Bank of Singapore. Photo: Working group

The two sides also exchanged experiences in currency management in the financial centre. The bank leader commented that Viet Nam is a potential market with a rapidly growing economy and an expanding financial ecosystem.

However, some major challenges need to be resolved to attract more international banks to open their representative offices in Viet Nam. Included are the ability to access domestic investment funds to support businesses, along with a more flexible and attractive foreign currency lending policy to suit the needs of global financial institutions.

The working session opened up many cooperation opportunities between Da Nang and international financial institutions, contributing to making the city a financial and free trade centre in the region.

Reporting by Working delegation - Translating by M.DUNG