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AusCham Participates in High-Level Dialogue with HCMC Leaders and FDI Community

Ho Chi Minh City - 30 October 2025, Edwin Law, Executive Director of the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Vietnam (AusCham), participated in the Conference on Meeting Between Ho Chi Minh City Leaders and FDI Enterprise Community 2025 and delivered remarks during the Dialogue Session. The event, hosted by the Ho Chi Minh City People’s Committee, convened foreign business associations, investors, and government agencies to discuss opportunities to enhance Ho Chi Minh City’s investment climate and long-term development priorities.

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The conference highlighted the City’s strategic orientation to 2040–2060, including its ambition to strengthen its position as a regional financial centre, industrial and logistics hub, and global innovation destination. Government representatives presented updates on socio-economic development, investment environment, urban master planning, and urban railway development.

Insights from HCMC Leadership

Chairman Nguyễn Văn Được highlighted foreign direct investment (FDI) as a major “bright spot” in the city’s economic performance to date, reflecting renewed investor confidence and improvements in the local business environment. He noted that Ho Chi Minh City attracted over USD 6.2 billion in FDI in the first seven months of 2025 - an increase of approximately 45% year-on-year - demonstrating the city’s strong appeal to global enterprises.

He affirmed that “the success of FDI enterprises is a measure of the City’s governance capacity and investment climate,” adding that every new investment commitment represents a vote of confidence in Ho Chi Minh City’s development vision.

Chairman Được stressed that the city will continue to “pave the way” for large, high-quality investors, particularly in high-technology, logistics, international finance, and innovation. To support this ambition, Ho Chi Minh City is committed to enhancing transparency, strengthening international standards, and reducing administrative procedures and processing time by at least 30%, shifting from a management-based to a service-oriented government while actively resolving bottlenecks for businesses.

AusCham’s Key Messages

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In his address, Mr. Edwin Law commended Ho Chi Minh City for its visionary Master Plan to 2040 and its ambition to position itself as a global financial, innovation and sustainable development hub. He recognised the City’s progress in infrastructure expansion, digital government services and sustainability initiatives, noting that Australian businesses regard Ho Chi Minh City as Vietnam’s primary growth engine and a dynamic environment for international investment.

At the same time, Mr. Law highlighted several operational challenges impacting the business community, including congestion, regulatory inefficiencies and talent-retention difficulties. He encouraged continued reform efforts to enhance competitiveness, accelerate ESG implementation and deepen global integration. He emphasised that strengthened public–private collaboration will be key to ensuring that the City can fully capitalise on emerging opportunities.

AusCham outlined four priority directions to support the City’s long-term aspiration to become a global, sustainable and innovative metropolis:

  1. Green Growth & Circular Economy – Advance supportive regulatory frameworks, promote ESG-linked incentives and develop pilot sustainability programmes.

  2. Infrastructure & Mobility – Advance transit-oriented development and expand smart-mobility and digital-logistics solutions.

  3. Financial & Innovation Ecosystem – Promote innovative financial instruments, streamline regulations and strengthen innovation linkages.

  4. Human Capital Development – Expand partnerships with universities and training institutions to support internships and workforce upskilling.

AusCham reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Ho Chi Minh City through policy dialogue, circular-economy pilot programmes and knowledge-sharing initiatives in areas such as logistics, food safety and SME capacity building. The Chamber looks forward to continued partnership with the City to foster sustainable, innovation-led growth.