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Ho Chi Minh City among 15 centres likely to become more significant: GFCI

Ho Chi Minh City was placed in the list of "The 15 Centres Likely To Become More Significant" of the Global Financial Centres Index 2026, receiving 21 mentions in the past 24 months from industry experts.

Bitexco Financial Tower in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)
Bitexco Financial Tower in Ho Chi Minh City (Photo: VNA)

Ho Chi Minh City (VNA) — Ho Chi Minh City has recorded a notable improvement in global financial centre rankings amid intensifying competition among financial hubs worldwide.

According to the Global Financial Centres Index 2026 (GFCI 39) recently released, Ho Chi Minh City ranked 84th among 120 global financial centres, climbing 11 places from the previous edition, despite gaining only one additional rating point. This marks one of the strongest improvements among mid-tier financial centres.

Within ASEAN, Ho Chi Minh City currently ranks third, behind Singapore (fourth globally) and Kuala Lumpur (42nd), while surpassing Jakarta and Bangkok. The result highlights the city’s increasingly visible role in the regional financial network.

Globally, New York and London maintained their positions as the top two financial centres. Notably, the Asia-Pacific occupies six places in the global top 10, reflecting the continued shift of financial gravity toward the region, while also underscoring intensifying competition.

The city was also placed in the list of "The 15 Centres Likely To Become More Significant", receiving 21 mentions in the past 24 months from industry experts.

Ho Chi Minh City also improved its position in the FinTech ranking, moving seven places up from 90th in GFCI 38 to 83rd in the latest assessment.

Associate Professor Dr Nguyen Huu Huan, Vice Chairman of the Executive Board of the Vietnam International Financial Centre in Ho Chi Minh City (VIFC-HCMC), described the 11-place improvement in the GFCI ranking as a positive signal.

According to him, the change reflects not only a shift in ranking but also broader progress in institutional frameworks, market depth and rising expectations from the international financial community.

While many global financial centres have largely maintained stable positions, the rise of VIFC-HCMC suggests that the strategy to develop an international financial centre is moving in the right direction.

More importantly, Ho Chi Minh City has been recognised among centres with strong future potential, which carries strategic significance because the GFCI measures not only current performance but also market expectations.

Huan said VIFC-HCMC is beginning to be revalued on the global financial map, shifting from a frontier market toward a potential destination for international capital flows, Huan said.

Alongside Ho Chi Minh City’s progress, Da Nang is also emerging as a new candidate. In GFCI 39, the city was listed among “associate centres” — a group of 17 locations being monitored but not yet included in the main rankings due to insufficient data.

Da Nang is currently among the locations closest to reaching the required 150 assessments, alongside Fukuoka and Incheon. If international financial community interest continues to grow, the city could soon enter the official rankings, potentially forming a new financial development axis alongside Ho Chi Minh City.

GFCI 39 was compiled using 147 instrumental factors. These quantitative measures are provided by third parties including the World Bank, the OECD, and the UN. The instrumental factors were combined with 34,468 assessments of financial centres provided by 5,218 respondents to the GFCI online questionnaire./.

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