The closing session of the primary Congress of the Ho Chi Minh City Party Organisation for the 2025-2030 time period occurred on October 15. During the session, Lam Dinh Thang, director of the Department of Science and Technology, said that science, expertise, and innovation have confirmed their position as main drivers of progress in Ho Chi Minh City. The metropolis has achieved vital outcomes in this discipline, laying the inspiration for improvement over the following 5 years.
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| Lam Dinh Thang, director of the Department of Science and Technology in Ho Chi Minh City |
Total issue productiveness (TFP), which measures the contribution of sci-tech to financial progress, is projected to attain 59 per cent by the top of this yr and can stay the main driver of progress.
The digital financial system contributed 22 per cent to town’s regional GDP in 2024, and this determine is predicted to rise to 25 per cent in 2025. Ho Chi Minh City at present ranks second nationally in the Digital Transformation Index and the National Innovation Index. Its startup and innovation ecosystem ranks one hundred and tenth globally and fifth in Southeast Asia, whereas town has climbed to thirtieth place globally in blockchain improvement.
“To achieve these results, the city has developed policies to attract talent and investment. For example, it offers non-refundable financial support for innovation, provides preferential wage policies, and has established international-standard research centres,” he stated.
Moreover, town has additionally made efforts in administrative reform and funding attraction, decreasing practically 300 administrative procedures associated to manufacturing and enterprise, equal to greater than 1,900 working days.
Task forces have been constructed to present well timed and direct assist for strategic buyers. As a end result, in the primary six months of 2025 alone, the sci-tech sector attracted $1.6 billion in overseas direct funding (FDI) (equal to 40 per cent of whole FDI into town). The metropolis now has over 140 science and expertise enterprises, rating second in the nation.
Thang highlighted that many main world tech companies have opened places of work and analysis and improvement (R&D) centres in town, similar to SAP from Germany, and Marvell and Qualcomm from the United States.
Especially, Ho Chi Minh City has prioritised workforce coaching, with practically 100 high-quality coaching establishments. The metropolis is dwelling to over 55 per cent of the nation’s programmers. Since early 2025, greater than 40,000 officers and public servants, together with tons of of excellent college students, have obtained coaching in AI.
Despite its achievements, Thang acknowledges that the sci-tech sector in town nonetheless faces main challenges. For occasion, administration mechanisms stay rigid and never but aligned with market dynamics. The metropolis lacks testing areas for brand spanking new expertise merchandise, and its data infrastructure is incomplete for full digital transformation. As such, assist from central authorities ministries is essential.
Additionally, the three-party linkage mannequin (faculties – authorities – enterprises) has not but developed in depth, and whole societal funding in R&D stays low.
Looking ahead to the following 5 years, town has outlined a number of main targets. TFP will contribute not less than 60 per cent, and the digital financial system will account for 30-40 per cent of regional GDP. Ho Chi Minh City will change into an international-class innovation centre by 2030. Its startup ecosystem is to attain the highest 100 most dynamic cities globally. The metropolis could have not less than 5 international-standard analysis centres in strategic expertise fields.
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To obtain these targets, Thang outlined three strategic breakthroughs, together with mechanisms, insurance policies, and funding attraction for strategic buyers in science and expertise.
“The latest positive news is that G42 Group from the UAE is planning to invest nearly $2 billion in an AI super data centre in the city,” he revealed. Ho Chi Minh City will proceed to develop high-tech zones, experimental zones for brand spanking new applied sciences below particular mechanisms, and encourage personal sector funding in science and expertise.
To develop strategic applied sciences and an innovation ecosystem, town will prioritise the event of core applied sciences the place it has strengths, similar to AI, semiconductors, robotics, blockchain, and biomedical expertise.
It may even create a startup assist fund below a brand new mannequin to appeal to enterprise capital, and collaborate with Vietnam National University – Ho Chi Minh City to develop a plan to flip town into a world innovation hub.
To build digital governance and a digital workforce, town will speed up the event of digital data and digital platforms, enabling the federal government to function based mostly on data-driven fashions.
Thang said that Ho Chi Minh City will strengthen cooperation among the many 4 events, universities, authorities, enterprises, together with buyers/banks, together with expertise diplomacy and the attraction of worldwide consultants. In parallel, town will promote the event of digital human assets to maintain and improve its main place.