From January 10 to 14, 2026, a delegation of the State Bank of Viet Nam (SBV), led by Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha, accompanied First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh and the Government’s delegation on a working visit to Singapore. The visit aimed to strengthen and further deepen the bilateral cooperation, while gaining experience in financial sector development, connectivity and investment promotion in support of Viet Nam’s International Financial Centre (IFC), thereby contributing to the sustainable development of the Vietnamese economy.
The Government Delegation has a meeting with Mr. Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore
Within the framework of the working visit, the Government’s delegation had a meeting with Mr. Gan Kim Yong, Deputy Prime Minister and Chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). At the meeting, First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh expressed his high appreciation for Singapore’s impressive socio-economic achievements in recent years.
SBV Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha highlighted Singapore’s valuable experience in maintaining a balanced approach between the leading role of domestic banks and the selective attraction of foreign banks and international financial institutions. This approach helps ensure financial system stability while promoting healthy competition and enhancing market efficiency. The SBV Deputy Governor also proposed that MAS continue to share its experience in foreign bank licensing, regulatory intervention to ensure system safety, exchange rate management, forex intervention, and capital flow management during periods of market volatility in the operation of an international financial centre.
Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha speaks at the meeting with MAS
In response, the MAS representative emphasized that, in order to maintain financial stability, capital inflows into an international financial centre should be aligned with the real needs of the economy and balanced appropriately with capital outflows. From a policy perspective, short term measures should focus on using appropriate instruments to stabilize the exchange rate and ensure macro-economic stability; in the long term, strengthening confidence in the national currency and building a transparent and consistent monetary policy framework are crucial for attracting high quality financial resources, and ensuring sustainable development.
At a meeting with former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Mr. Heng Swee Keat, both sides agreed on the strong potential for cooperation in connecting the international financial centres of Vietnam and Singapore. First Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Hoa Binh expressed his hope that Singapore would continue to share its experience in developing a leading international financial centre.
The Government Delegation had a meeting with Former Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore Mr. Heng Swee Keat
Within the framework of the Singapore Investor Outreach Seminar themed “Viet Nam International Financial Centre – A New Investment Model”, and during meetings with the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS) and the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), the Singaporean side expressed strong interest in the banking and forex issues related to Viet Nam’s IFC. These included the forms of commercial presence of foreign banks at the IFC and forex management mechanisms, particularly policies facilitating capital flows from the IFC into Viet Nam.
Addressing these issues, Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha shared that the SBV has been actively implementing the Government’s directions, particularly through the drafting of Decree No. 329/2025/ND-CP, which aims to improve the legal framework governing banking operations, forex management, anti-money laundering, and counter-terrorism financing at Viet Nam’s IFC. Under this framework, foreign banks may establish a presence at the IFC in two forms: wholly foreign-owned commercial banks and foreign bank branches. Banks operating within the IFC will benefit from special and preferential policies beyond current regulations, including: (i) shortened timelines for bank establishment licensing; (ii) more flexible regulations on bank organization, governance, and management; (iii) flexible forex management policies to attract foreign investment capital into the IFC.
Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha attends the Singapore Investor Outreach Seminar themed “Viet Nam International Financial Centre – A New Investment Model”
In addition, Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha also attended other meetings between the Government’s delegation and the Singapore International Arbitration Centre (SIAC), the Singapore FinTech Association, investment funds, and policy advisory organizations. These discussions focused on exchanging views on the investment environment and seeking cooperation with Singaporean partners in the development and operation of Viet Nam’s International Financial Centre in the coming period.
Deputy Governor Pham Thanh Ha attends a working session with the ABS